


Itachi's demon spawn Book 1

by BusyWriter



Series: Itachi's demon spawn [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Itachi is an absent father, Itachi may be a sexaholic, Multi, Sasuke is a grumpy and overworked uncle, Tired and overworked mamas, hyperactive demon children, many Uchiha babies and chibis
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-16
Updated: 2020-04-29
Packaged: 2020-05-12 18:18:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 54,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19234546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BusyWriter/pseuds/BusyWriter
Summary: (Inspired by Itachi Uchiha must die: by Dissenter)It has been two years since the Uchiha Compound was filled with Itachi’s little hellions. Sasuke, is just trying to cope with his new reality. From being woken up at the butt crack of dawn, to changing baby diapers, to being chased around by hyperactive toddlers. All that Sasuke, wants is some peace and quiet.Itachi, lives in ignorance of the consequences of his sexual endeavours. However, all of that will change. When Itachi finds out about his children, his way of looking at his life will never be the same.As for the children...they just enjoy running around the compound and annoying their uncle, and mama’s.





	1. A typical morning in the Uchiha compound

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Dissenter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dissenter/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Uchiha Itachi must die](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12324816) by [Dissenter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dissenter/pseuds/Dissenter). 



> This is my continuation of Dissenter's story Itachi Uchiha must die. This story will focus on Sasuke's life in the Uchiha compound with the children and mothers.

Dawn is starting to break over the Uchiha Compound. Inside Sasuke’s house, all is quiet. Just then, the sound of a door sliding open breaks the silence.  ****  
****

Upstairs, Sasuke is asleep in his room. Sasuke’s door silently opens. Sasuke, moves slightly in his sleep. Just then a little figure jumps up and lands on top of Sasuke. Sasuke, sits up with a jolt. Sasuke, opens his eyes to see his now four year old nephew, Kazuto, sitting on top of him. Kazuto, just turned four about a week ago. Kazuto, has black hair, black irises, and pale skin.  ****  
****

Sasuke, looks around. Sasuke’s bed is surrounded by his nieces and nephews that are all three and up. The children are still in their night clothes.  ****  
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Kazuto, smiles widely at Sasuke. “Wake up Uncle Sasuke!” Kazuto says. “It’s morning.”  ****  
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Hikari, Sasuke’s four year old niece, walks up to the side of Sasuke’s bed. Hikari, grabs Sasuke’s arm and tugs on it. Hikari, turned four about two days after Kazuto did. Hikari, has shoulder length black hair, black irises, and pale skin.  ****  
****

“Uncle Sasuke, play with us.” Hikari cries. ****  
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Sasuke, just narrows his eyes and looks at his alarm clock. It is 6:00 am in the morning. Sasuke, grits his teeth and grumbles. He has at least 45 more minutes before he has to get up and help with the infants. These children are absolutely nuts if they think that he is going to get up this early and play with them. ****  
****

Sasuke, picks up Kazuto and sets the young boy down on the floor next to the bed. Sasuke, almost cringes when he looks at Kazuto. Kazuto, looks like a mini clone of Itachi. Sasuke, lies back down.  ****  
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“Go away you little pests.” Sasuke says. “The sun is just starting to come up. I am exhausted. Just leave me alone.”  ****  
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Kazuto, Hikari and the other children just narrow their eyes. Kazuto, jumps back onto Sasuke’s bed. Sasuke, opens his eyes and looks angrily at Kazuto.  ****  
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“Get off of me.” Sasuke says through gritted teeth.  ****  
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“Play with us.” Kazuto says.  ****  
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“Play.” Hikari says.  ****  
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“Play!” The other children yell. “Play...Play.”  ****  
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“I said go away!” Sasuke says.  ****  
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Just then, one of Sasuke’s other nephews, Akirou, jumps onto Sasuke’s bed. Akirou, has dark brown hair, black irises, and fair skin. Akirou, grabs Sasuke’s left arm. Kazuto, grabs Sasuke’s right arm.  ****  
****

Sasuke’s eyes widen. “What do you think you are doing you little brats!?” Sasuke yells. “Let go of me right now!”  ****  
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“Play...play...play…,” All of the children begin to chant.  ****  
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Kazuto and Akirou, pull Sasuke off of the bed. However, the two boys pull Sasuke off of the bed so fast, Sasuke doesn’t have time to break his fall. Sasuke falls to the floor with a thud. Sasuke, hits his head hard. The children stop chanting. The eyes of all the children widen instantly.  ****  
****

“Oops…,” Sasuke’s niece Hoshiko says. Hoshiko, has shoulder length black hair, black irises, pale skin and red lips. “We made uncle Sasuke hit his head.”  ****  
****

Sasuke, sits on the floor and clutches his head. Sasuke, grits his teeth as he looks at his nieces and nephews. Sasuke, just hates mornings so much.  ****  
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* * *

Sasuke, sits in the kitchen. He holds an ice pack on his head.  ****  
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Sasuke, then looks up at the clock. It is 6:45 am. Time to go across the street and help feed the babies.  ****  
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All of the children three and up just stand in the kitchen and stare at Sasuke. They have been silent since the incident in Sasuke’s room. Kazuto, is the first to speak up.  ****  
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“Does this mean you are not going to play with us today?” Kazuto asks with a little pout. ****  
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“No!” Sasuke says with narrowed eyes. “I am not playing with you today.”  ****  
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Sasuke, stand up. “Besides…,” Sasuke says. “I have to go across the street and help feed your baby brothers and sisters.”  ****  
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Sasuke, walks out of the kitchen and out of the house. He doesn’t even bother to put his sandals on.  ****  
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_I just hate mornings so much…,_ Sasuke thinks to himself.  ****  
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Sasuke, reaches the house across the street. This particular house is actually two homes connected by a big open veranda and covered walkway. Before the massacre, these houses had belonged to a family. A couple and their children lived in the house to the right. The wife’s elderly parents and disabled brother lived in the home to the right. The wife’s brother had lost his leg in the third shinobi world war. The man had never married so he relied on his aging parents and sister’s family to assist him. The elderly parents also needed help so having the two homes connected really helped the family. All the wife had to do was walk across the veranda or across the covered walkway when her brother of parents needed assistance. Of course the family is now dead, killed by Itachi years ago. The two houses are now home to 22 children, all two and under.  ****  
****

Sasuke, walks towards the home on the right. This home is where the children one and under are kept. Sasuke, slides open the door. The crying of infants can be heard inside. Sasuke, walks into the house and into the kitchen.  ****  
****

Two women stand in the kitchen. The women are Ikeri and Yukiko.  ****  
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Ikeri, is the mother of Sasuke’s 6 month old nephew, Isamu. Ikeri, has long flowing black hair, deep violet colored irises, fair skin, and pink lips. Ikeri, wears a simple violet blouse with a cream colored skirt.  ****  
****

Yukiko, is the mother of Sasuke’s 3 month old niece, Yamiko. Yukiko, has shoulder length light brown hair, apple green eyes, light skin, and red lips. Yukiko, wears a pink blouse with a darker pink skirt.   ****  
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The two women stand at the counter and prepare baby food. Ikeri, is the first to notice Sasuke. Ikeri’s eyes widen at the sight of Sasuke holding an ice pack to his head.  ****  
****

“What happened to you?” Ikeri asks.  ****  
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Sasuke, grumbles lightly. “Kazuto and Akirou decided to pull me out of my bed and I ended up hitting my head on the floor.” Sasuke says.  ****  
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Just then, a woman with red hair, blue-green eyes, pale skin, and red lips, walks into the kitchen. The woman is Komone, mother to Sasuke’s 13 month old nephew, Kenji. Sasuke’s 13 month old niece, Chiaki, is actually the daughter of Komone’s 1st cousin, Chihari. Komone and Chiari had worked as hookers together in the same town. The two women had a threesome with Itachi, resulting in the conception of Kenji and Chiaki. Komone, was the first to give birth. Chihari, gave birth two days later. However, Chihari, was uninterested in her new daughter, and neglected the newborn, forcing Komone to care for both Kenji and Chiaki. When anbu arrived at the town three months later, they discovered the babies and the two women. The anbu gave Komone, an ultimatum. Come to the village with the babies or hand the babies over. Otherwise the babies would be taken by force. Komone, wasn’t willing to give up Kenji so she agreed to go to Konoha. Komone, had hoped that the reality of losing her daughter would wake Chihari up and that she would be a better mother. Nope. Chihari, didn’t even bat an eye when Komone told her about the anbu’s ultimatum. So the anbu brought Komone, Kenji, and Chiaki to Konoha...without Chihari.  ****  
****

Komone, sighs as she holds a basket with two jars in it out to Ikeri. The two jars are full of white liquid.  ****  
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“Here is the milk that Motoko and I were able to pump last night before we went to bed.” Komone says.  ****  
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Ikeri, takes the basket from Komone. “Thanks.” Ikeri says.  ****  
****

Ikeri and Yukiko, breastfeed their babies. However, there are eight other babies in need of milk as well, and they don’t have mothers to nurse them. Baby formula is just so expensive and there is little money. Since the rest of the Uchiha’s were killed by Itachi years ago, Sasuke, became the sole beneficiary of the Uchiha clan’s wealth. This was more than enough for Sasuke. Sasuke, plus ten women and forty six young children...not so much. Sasuke and the mothers have to stretch the funds whenever and wherever they can. Due to the demand, the mother’s who are able to produce milk must pump milk in order to fill bottles. ****  
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Komone, still nurses Kenji and Chiaki, twice a day. However, due to demand Komone, must pump milk for the other babies. Motoko’s daughter Mitsuko, and niece Natsuko, stopped nursing months ago. However, due to demand, Motoko must continue to pump milk as well. And there just seems to be no end to the Uchiha baby crisis. It seems like every month or so a new baby is delivered to the village.  ****  
****

The crying of the babies gets louder with each passing second. Sasuke and the mothers know what the problem is. The babies are hungry. Very hungry and impatient to be exact.  ****  
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Ikeri fills the bottles quickly and warms them up in a small plastic tub filled with warm water. She swirls the bottles every 30 second to ensure that all of the milk heats evenly. Sasuke and Yukiko, head upstairs to get the babies ready.  ****  
****

Sasuke, heads for the boys nursery while Yukiko, heads for the girls nursery. Sasuke, open up the door. Four cribs line the walls. Isamu, sleeps in a bassinet next to Ikeri’s bed. Sasuke, heads to the first crib. Inside the crib is Sasuke’s 1 year old nephew Souta. Souta, has black hair, black irises, and pale skin. Souta, currently wears blue pajamas.  ****  
****

Souta, wails loudly inside his crib. Sasuke’s rubs his temples. He hates the sound of crying babies so much.  ****  
****

Sasuke, heads over to a set of four wall mount hooks and takes off an outfit hanging on the first hook. Sasuke then goes over to a drawer and grabs a cloth diaper. Sasuke, then takes a rolled up changing mat out of a basket. Sasuke, unrolls the changing mat and then grabs a container filled with cloth baby wipes moistened with plain water.  ****  
****

Sasuke, walks back over to Souta’s crib and picks Souta up. Souta, takes a handful of Sasuke’s hair and pulls.  ****  
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“Ow!” Sasuke says. “Let go!”  ****  
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Sasuke, pry’s Souta’s hand off of his hair. Sasuke sets the baby down on the changing mat. Sasuke, undresses Souta and starts taking the diaper off. Sasuke, gags at the terrible smell. He also hates changing poopy diapers.  ****  
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Sasuke, works quickly, cleaning Souta’s poop covered bottom. Souta, wriggles the entire time, making Sasuke’s task difficult. Sasuke, throws the wipe into a pail. Sasuke, throws the dirty diaper into a pail as well.  ****  
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Souta, wriggles on the changing mat. Sasuke, grabs the clean diaper and puts the diaper on quickly. Sasuke, rubs his hands with sanitizer and takes Souta off of the changing mat. Sasuke, starts dressing Souta in the outfit. Once Sasuke is done he puts Souta back in his crib and moves onto the next crib.  ****  
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Sasuke, grabs outfit number two and places it next to the changing mat. Sasuke, then heads over to the next crib. Inside crib number two is Sasuke’s 11 month old nephew, Mitsuro. Mitsuro, has brown hair, black irises, and lightly tanned skin. Mitsuro, wears blue pajamas.  ****  
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Sasuke, takes the wailing Mitsuro, out of the crib and places the child on the changing mat. Sasuke, slowly opens up the diaper. A stream of warm urine almost hits Sasuke in the face. Sasuke, manages to dodge the pee just in time. Sasuke, grimaces as he looks at the grinning Mitsuro. Seriously, it’s always Mitsuro who tries to pee on him.  ****  
****

Sasuke, quickly changes Mitsuro, and repeats the task with his two other nephews, 8 month old Notarou and 4 month old Osamu. Sasuke, then goes over to a high shelf and takes out a natural cleaner in order to clean Mitsuro’s pee off of the floor.  ****  
****

Just then the door opens. It is Ikeri. Ikeri, carries a tray with four bottles of warm milk. Sasuke takes the tray from Ikeri.  ****  
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Sasuke, then takes Souta and Mitsurou out of their cribs and sets them on the floor. Souta and Mitsurou begin to crawl around.  ****  
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Sasuke, quickly takes Notarou and Osamu out of their cribs as well. Sasuke, cradles Osamu gently and then places Osamu, on a blanket. Sasuke, grabs two bottles and pops them into Mitsurou and Souta’s mouths. Mitsurou and Souta stop crying immediately. The two babies eagerly hold their bottles and drink the warm milk.  ****  
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Sasuke, grabs two more bottles and then pops one into Notarou’s mouth. Sasuke, holds the bottle as Notarou, drinks eagerly. Sasuke, takes the other bottle and pops it into Osamu’s mouth. Sasuke, holds the bottle as Osamu, lays on the blanket and drinks the warm milk.  ****  
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Sasuke, savors the momentary silence. With life how it is now, Sasuke appreciates any moment of silence.  ****  
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Within minutes Souta and Mitsurou, have finished their bottles. The two babies drop their bottles and go back to crawling around. Moments later, Notarou and Osamu finish off their bottles. Sasuke, puts the empty bottles onto the tray in order to take them downstairs.  ****  
****

Now, comes the hard part. Feeding Souta, Mitsurou, Notarou, Isamu, and Sasuke’s nieces Amani, Rukia, and Orenji, their morning solids. That can be a difficult job no matter how many adults there are to help with the feeding.  ****  
****

* * *

Sasuke, grits his teeth, as he struggles to get the old worn T-shirt on Souta. Sasuke and the mothers use old T-shirts as bibs for the babies. Souta, wriggles and fights Sasuke.  ****  
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“Hold still.” Sasuke says.  ****  
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Finally, after another minute of fighting, Sasuke gets the t-shirt on Souta. Sasuke, straps Souta into a baby chair and puts the chair in front of the table. Sasuke, then places a sectioned baby dish in front of Souta. One section has rice and red lentil porridge. In another section is very finely chopped steamed greens. Another section has apple puree.  ****  
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Sasuke, then grabs Mitsuro and places Mitsuro in a matching chair. Sasuke, places an exact dish in front of Mitsuro. Then, Sasuke hands Mitsuro and Souta baby spoons. Yukiko, places Amani in a chair next to Mitsuro.  ****  
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Sasuke, then turns his attention to Notarou and Orenji. Ikeri, will be feeding Isamu. Yukiko, will be feeding Rukia. That leaves Sasuke, with Notarou and Orenji.  ****  
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Sasuke, has the two high chairs placed close to each other. Sasuke, has two bowls of apple puree in front of him. Sasuke, grabs a spoon with his right hand. Sasuke, grabs another spoon with his left hand. Over the years, Sasuke has become very good at using his left hand for certain things.  ****  
****

With his left hand, Sasuke, holds the spoon. Sasuke, scoops up some apple puree. Sasuke, puts the spoon in Orenji’s mouth. Orenji, takes the puree into her mouth and chews before swallowing.  ****  
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Sasuke, holds the other spoon in his right hand. Sasuke, scoops up some apple puree and holds the spoon in front of Notarou’s mouth. Notarou, stares at the spoon for a few seconds before putting his mouth around the spoon. Notarou, takes the puree into his mouth and starts chewing. Notarou, swallows the puree.  ****  
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After a few more minutes both bowls of puree have been emptied. Sasuke, sets the bowls down and takes Orenji out of her highchair. Sasuke, takes the T-shirt off and sets Orenji down on the floor. Orenji crawls into the next room where there are multiple baby toys scattered on the floor.  ****  
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Sasuke, lifts Notarou out of his highchair. However, Notarou, ends up barfing all over the front of Sasuke’s shirt. Sasuke, grimaces. Again, he hates mornings so much.  ****  
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* * *

Sasuke, walks over to the house where the children one through two are housed. Sasuke, had to run back to his house and change his shirt. Now, it is time to help feed the one year olds.  ****  
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Sasuke, enters the house. The shrieks of unhappy children fill his ears. Sasuke, grimaces. He hates the shrieking of toddlers.  ****  
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Sasuke, enters the kitchen. Komone and Motoko, are busy with breakfast. The two women don’t even bother to try and quiet the shrieking toddlers.  ****  
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Motoko, is the mother of Sasuke’s 18 month old niece Mitsuko. Motoko, is also the aunt of Sasuke’s other 18 month old niece, Natsuko. Motoko and her twin sister Naiya, had been hookers together in a town at the border of the Land of Fire. Itachi and the two women had a threesome, resulting in the conception of both Mitsuko and Natsuko. Motoko, gave birth first. However, when it was time for Naiya to give birth, there were complications and Naiya, died right there on the hospital bed. The doctor had to perform an emergency C-section to pull Natsuko out of Naiya’s dead body. So, Motoko was left to raise both Mitsuko and Natsuko on her own. Then, five months later, anbu showed up and discovered the babies. So, Motoko, Mitsuko and Natsuko were all brought to Konoha.  ****  
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Motoko, sighs and stirs the pot of thickening rice and red lentil porridge. Motoko, has long braided black hair, bright ocean blue eyes, light peach skin, and pink lips. Motoko, wears an ocean blue blouse with a white skirt.  ****  
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Mitsuko and Natsuko, pull on Motoko’s skirt. Mitsuko, has black hair, black irises, light peach skin, and pink lips. Natsuko, also has black hair, black irises, light peach skin, and pink lips. Mitsuko and Natsuko are practically twins, despite only being half-siblings. You can usually tell them apart from looking at their attire. Mitsuko, wears pink clothing. Natsuko, wears lilac colored clothing.  ****  
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“MAMA!” Mitsuko shrieks. “Hungry! Food now!”  ****  
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“It is almost done.” Motoko says.  ****  
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“HUNGRY NOW!!” Natsuko shrieks. “Want food now!”  ****  
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Next to Motoko, Komone, watches the steaming greens in the steamer basket. Komone, is getting the same treatment from Kenji and Chiaki.  ****  
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“MAMA!” Kenji cries. Kenji, has black hair, black irises, and pale skin. “Mama, Foo!”  ****  
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“FOO!” Chiaki cries. Chiaki, has dark brown hair, black irises, and light skin. “Foo! Foo!”  ****  
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Foo, is Kenji and Chiaki’s word for food. The two of them are only 13 months old, so they still have a very limited vocabulary. Many of the other children have picked up on the word and are now using it as well.   ****  
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Saki, another mother, is chopping up some fruit. Saki, is the mother of Sasuke’s 21 month old nephew, Satoshi. Saki, has brown hair, amber eyes, pale skin, and pink lips. Saki, wears a simple pink blouse with a red skirt.  ****  
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Satoshi, tugs on Saki’s skirt. Satoshi, has black hair, black irises, and pale skin.  ****  
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“MAMA!” Satoshi cries. “I want food!”  ****  
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The other one to two year olds are also pinching a fit. Many of them shriek as they toddle around the room. A few even throw themselves to the floor.  ****  
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“WAAAH…,” Sasuke’s 15 month old niece, Choumi, cries. Choumi, has dark brown hair, black irises, pale skin and pink lips. Choumi, throws herself to the floor and wails. “Foo! Foo now!”  ****  
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“WAAAAAAAAAH…,” Sasuke’s 17 month old niece, Senna, wails. Senna, has black hair, black irises, and light skin. “Foo! Foo!” ****  
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Sasuke’s nephews, Benjiro and Ryuu, walk around the room as they wail. Ryuu, is 20 months old and has black hair, black irises, and light skin. Benjiro, is 19 months old and has dark brown hair, black irises, and light olive skin.  ****  
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“HUNGRY!” Ryuu, cries out.  ****  
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“WANT FOOD!” Benjiro wails. Benjiro, throws himself to the floor.  ****  
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Terashi and Zakuro, wail as they sit on the floor. Terashi, is three weeks away from turning two. Terashi, has black hair, black irises, and pale skin. Zakuro, just turned 22 months old three days ago. Zakuro, dark brown hair, black irises, and fair skin.  ****  
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“FOOD!” Terashi screams. “I want food!”  ****  
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“HUNGRY!” Zakuro cries out. Zakuro, pounds his fists on the floor. “Food now! Food now!”  ****  
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Sasuke’s two year old niece, Kohana, circles the room and pouts. Kohana, has black hair, black irises, light skin, and red lips.  ****  
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“Hungry.” Kohana pouts. “I want food.”  ****  
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Sasuke, grimaces and rubs his temples. Every morning is like this. Lunchtime and Dinnertime are also like this.  ****  
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Yukiko, steps into the room. With Yamiko back asleep, Yukiko, has come to help with the breakfast frenzy. Yukiko and Ikeri take turns doing this.  ****  
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Motoko, checks the porridge. “It’s done.” Motoko says.  ****  
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The adults all get to work quickly. Saki, Motoko, Komone, start filling plates. The plates are round and sectioned. Saki, fills one section of each plate with chopped fruit. Komone, fills one section of each plate with steamed greens. Motoko, fills the last section with porridge. Ikeri, fills sippy cups with milk. All of the children 1 to 3 get a cup of regular cows milk for breakfast.  ****  
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Sasuke, places filled plates on the table in the adjacent dining area. After two spots at the table have a plate, Sasuke, goes and fetches two children under each arm and brings them to the table. Sasuke, keeps repeating this process until all spots at the table are filled. Ikeri, comes right in behind Sasuke and places a sippy cup in front of each child.  ****  
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The children, slowly stop wailing and look at their plates. Within moments the children start to dig into their breakfast.  ****  
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Sasuke, sighs and leans against the wall, taking in the momentary silence. However, Sasuke, will have to repeat this process with the children two through three, in about ten minutes.  ****  
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* * *

Sasuke, arrives at the house where the children two to three live. Sasuke, slides open the front door. Shrieking can be heard inside. Sasuke, grimaces and rubs his temples. Sasuke, slowly enters the kitchen. It is absolute chaos. ****  
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Aika and Akira, are busy making breakfast. The two women work quickly, trying to get breakfast on the table as quickly as possible.  ****  
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Aika, is the mother of Sasuke’s twin niece and nephew, Aiko and Akashi. Aika, has long chocolate brown hair, dark brown eyes, light olive skin, and red lips. Aika, wears a simple blush pink knee length dress, with a red sash.  ****  
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Akira, is the mother of Sasuke’s nephew, Chihaku. Akira, is also the aunt of Sasuke’s nephew, Daichi. Akira and her younger sister Fumiko, had been hookers together in a town in the land Of Tea. Of course Itachi visited one day. This lead to Itachi having a threesome with Akira and Fumiko, which in turn lead to the conception of Chihaku and Daichi. Akira and Fumiko gave birth within a day of each other, with Akira giving birth first. However, about a month later, a group of bandits attacked the town. Akira, was babysitting Daichi when the attack began. Akira, managed to get both babies to safety. However, Fumiko...was not so lucky. Fumiko, was killed in the attack, leaving Akira to raise both Chihaku and Daichi alone. About a month later, anbu arrived and discovered Akira and the babies. So, Akira, Chihaku, and Daichi, were all brought to Konoha.  ****  
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Akira, sighs as she stirs the rice and lentil porridge. Akira, has long black hair, blue eyes, pale skin, and pink lips. Akira, wears a sage green blouse with white sleeves, and a dark green skirt.  ****  
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The children cry as they wait for their breakfast. Chihaku and Daichi, bang their little fists on the floor. Chihaku, has spiky black hair, black irises, and fair skin. Daichi, also has black hair, black irises, and fair skin.  ****  
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“FOOD!” Chihaku screams. “Food!”  ****  
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“I’M HUNGRY!” Daichi screams. “I want my breakfast now!”  ****  
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Akashi and Aiko, both sit at the table and whine. Akashi, has dark brown hair, black irises, and very light olive skin. Akashi, wears a red cap. Aiko, has chocolate brown hair, black irises, and very light olive skin. Aiko, wears a little pink beanie.  ****  
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“Mommy, I want food.” Akashi whines.  ****  
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“Mommy, I want food.” Aiko whines.  ****  
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Sasuke’s nephew, Tadase, walks up to Sasuke, and grabs Sasuke’s shirt. Tadase, has black hair, black irises, and light skin. Tadase, tugs on Sasuke’s shirt.  ****  
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“Uncle Sasuke I’m hungry.” Tadase says with a frown. “I want food.”  ****  
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Sasuke, frowns. “Does it look like I have food?” Sasuke asks.  ****  
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“Hungry…,” Tadase says. “Hungry...hungry...hungry.”  ****  
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Sasuke’s nieces, Umeko, Himeko, and Mio, scream and rampage around the room.  ****  
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“FOOD!” Umeko cries. Umeko, has dark brown hair, black irises, and fair skin. “I want food!”  ****  
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“FEED ME NOW!” Himeko cries out. Himeko, has black hair, black irises, and pale skin. “Feed me!”  ****  
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“I’M HUNGRY Mio screams over and over. Mio, has black hair, black irises, and pale skin.  ****  
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Sasuke’s other nieces, Tomone and Yuri, sit on the floor and wail.  ****  
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“I WANT FOOD!” Tomone screams. Tomone, has dark brown hair, black irises, light peachy skin, and pink lips.  ****  
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“HUNGRY!” Yuri, cries out. Yuri, has black hair, black irises, pale skin and red lips.  ****  
****

Sasuke, grits his teeth and holds his hands over his ears. This is just unbearable. Then, Sasuke feels the end of his shirt being tugged. Sasuke, looks down. It is his nephew, Hajime. Hajime, has black hair, black irises, and pale skin.  ****  
****

“UNCLE SASUKE, FEED ME!” Hajime cries.  ****  
****

Sasuke, frowns. “I don’t have any food.” Sasuke says with a snappy voice. “I already told Tadase that.”  ****  
****

“Feed me!” Hajime repeats. “Feed me now!”  ****  
****

Then, Yashiro, comes up to Sasuke and grabs onto Sasuke’s shirt as well. Yashiro, has dark brown hair, black irises, and fair skin.  ****  
****

“UNCLE SASUKE!” Yashiro cries. The little boy’s tone of voice sounds very cranky. “I am hungry!”  ****  
****

“I said that I don’t have any food!” Sasuke snaps again.  ****  
****

Tadase, Hajime, and Yashiro,  ignore Sasuke and continue to pull on Sasuke’s shirt.  ****  
****

“Feed us...feed us…,” The three toddlers chant. “Feed us...feed us.”  ****  
****

Sasuke, tries to pull himself away, but Tadase, Hajime and Yashiro, hold tight to Sasuke’s shirt.  ****  
****

“Let go of my shirt!” Sasuke snaps.  ****  
****

“Feed us, Uncle Sasuke!” Tadase, Hajime, and Yashiro say at the same time. “Feed us now!”  ****  
****

The three boys pull hard and soon, the sound of ripping fabric can be heard. Sasuke’s eyes widen instantly. He looks down. The bottom of his shirt has two big rips in it from where Tadase, Hajime and Yashiro pulled.  ****  
****

Tadase, Hajime, and Yashiro, stop pulling on Sasuke’s shirt. They blink a few times at the sight of the rips, realizing that it is their fault.  ****  
****

Sasuke, grimaces. Two shirts ruined in one day, and the day hasn’t even truly begun yet. This is so not his day.  ****  
****

* * *

Sasuke, throws his shirt into the basket full of clothes that need to be mended. He just sighs and heads out the front door. It is time for him to help feed the oldest children.  ****  
****

Sasuke, heads to the house to the left. Sasuke, slides open the front door. The whining of children can be heard inside. Sasuke, grimaces and heads for the kitchen.  ****  
****

Keiko, Hitomi, and Tamiko, all prepare plates of food. They look at Sasuke.  ****  
****

“You’re here!” Keiko says. Keiko, has long black hair, dark brown eyes, pale skin, and red lips. Keiko, wears a simple red kimono, with black sleeves and a white sash. Keiko, is the mother of Kazuto.  ****  
****

Sasuke, growls lowly. “Tadase, Hajime, and Yashiro ripped my shirt!” Sasuke says. “I had to go home and change.”  ****  
****

“Oh.” Keiko says.  ****  
****

Sasuke, takes two plates from Hitomi. Hitomi, is the mother of Hikari. Hitomi, has long dark brown hair, blue eyes, fair skin and pink lips. Hitomi, wears an indigo blue knee length kimono with a white belt.  ****  
****

Sasuke, places the plates on the table in the adjacent dining room. Tamiko, follows close behind and places a water cup next to each plate. Tamiko, is the mother of Sasuke’s niece, Tsukiko. Tamiko, has long indigo blue hair, teal eyes, pale skin and red lips. Tamiko, wears a teal colored long sleeved blouse with a white skirt.  ****  
****

Sasuke and Tamiko, continue to fill the table with plates and cups until 12 spots have been filled. Sasuke, fetches his nephews Akirou and Masaru first. Tamiko, fetches Tsukiko and Sasuke’s niece, Reika. Hitomi, fetches Hikari and Sasuke’s nephew, Yuuta. Keiko, fetches Kazuto and Sasuke’s other nephew, Haruto.  ****  
****

“Alright.” Sasuke says with a snappy voice. “Here is your breakfast. Sit and eat.”  ****  
****

Sasuke, then goes and fetches his nephew Raiden, and niece Kaida. Tamiko, fetches Sayuri and Hoshiko.  ****  
****

“No playing with your food.” Tamiko says with a stern tone of voice.  ****  
****

The children all dig into their food. Sasuke, leans against the wall. He takes in the silence. However, after breakfast is over, the day will just get harder for Sasuke.  ****  
****

After breakfast, is when all of the pestering really begins.  ****  
****

* * *

Sasuke, brushes his teeth and heads out the bathroom door. It is time for him to go meet Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura.  ****  
****

Kazuto, Hikari, Akirou, and Hoshiko, have gathered with the other children. They jump up and down as they surround Sasuke.  ****  
****

“Uncle Sasuke, play with us!” Sasuke’s niece Reika says. Reika, has long black hair, black irises, pale skin and red lips.  ****  
****

Sasuke, grits his teeth. “Leave me alone you little brats.” Sasuke says. “I have to go meet my team today.”  ****  
****

“Uncle Sasuke, play with us!” Tsukiko cries. Tsukiko, has black hair that is cut pixie style. Short bangs of hair cover Tsukiko’s forehead. Tsukiko, has black irises, pale skin, and red lips.  ****  
****

“I said that I can’t play with you today!” Sasuke snaps. “Now go away.”  ****  
****

“Uncle Sasuke, we want to play!” Haruto cries. Haruto, has black hair with a bang covering the left side of his forehead, black irises, and pale skin.  ****  
****

“Play!” Yuuta yells. Yuuta, has dark brown hair, black irises, and fair skin.  ****  
****

“Go away.” Sasuke snaps again.  ****  
****

“PLAY WITH US!” All of the children cry at the same time.  ****  
****

Sasuke, grits his teeth. “I said no!” Sasuke says.  ****  
****

“Uncle Sasuke, play with us!” Masaru cries. Masaru, has black hair, black irises, and light skin.  ****  
****

Akirou and Raiden, grab Sasuke’s arms and begin pulling towards the playroom. Raiden, has black hair, black irises, and fair skin.  ****  
****

“Play ninja with us, Uncle Sasuke.” Akirou and Raiden both say at the same time.  ****  
****

Sasuke, manages to get both of his arms free. “I told you that I cannot play with you.” Sasuke snaps.  ****  
****

Kaida and Hoshiko, grab Sasuke’s arms and start to pull Sasuke towards the playroom. Kaida, has dark brown hair, black irises, light skin, and red lips. Kaida and Hoshiko, are trying to pull Sasuke to an area with a dollhouse.  ****  
****

“Play dolls with us Uncle Sasuke.” Kaida and Hoshiko both say.  ****  
****

Sasuke’s eyes widen and he immediately get his arms free. “I said no!” Sasuke snaps again. “What part of ‘I cannot play with you’ don’t all of you understand!?”  ****  
****

Sayuri, grabs Sasuke’s arm. Sayuri, has dark brown hair, black irises, light skin, pink lips, and little dimples on each side of her mouth.  ****  
****

“Uncle Sasuke, please play with us.” Sayuri says with her puppy dog eyes.  ****  
****

Sasuke, pulls his arm away. “No!” Sasuke says. “Go away.”  ****  
****

Sasuke, quickly runs down the hallway and out of the front door. The children follow him.  ****  
****

“COME BACK UNCLE SASUKE!” The children all yell. “PLAY WITH US.”  ****  
****

The children between two and three come out of their house and join their older siblings in chasing Sasuke.  ****  
****

Sasuke, pants as he runs away from the children. With any luck they will tire out and give up, before Sasuke reaches team Seven’s meeting spot.


	2. A typical day

Sasuke, pants as he runs down the canal path. Finally, the bridge comes into sight. Sakura and Naruto, are already waiting. Sakura, turns and gasps. 

“Sasuke…,” Sakura says. “You’re later than usual. Where have you been?” 

Sasuke, narrows his eyes. “Let’s see…,” Sasuke says. “Where should I start? The little brats woke me up at six O’clock this morning. Kazuto and Akirou, pulled me off of my bed and I hit my head on the floor.” 

Sakura, gasps and looks at Sasuke’s head. “You hit your head!?” Sakura asks with a concerned voice. Sakura, examines Sasuke’s head. “Are you sure that you should be training today?” 

Sasuke, sighs. “Yes I am ok.” Sasuke says. 

Sasuke, then narrows his eyes again. “Then…,” Sasuke says. “I was changing baby nappies and Mitsuro tried to pee on me...again. Then, Notarou, threw up on me after I feed him and Orenji their breakfast.” 

Sakura, cringes when Sasuke mentions ‘throw up’. Naruto, just snickers slightly. 

“After I changed my shirt…,” Sasuke says. “Yukiko and I helped Saki, Motoko, and Komone feed the one year olds. The little brats screamed until the food was done of course. Then, I went to help Aika and Akira with the two year olds. Hajime, Tadase, and Yashiro demanded that I feed them. They pulled on my shirt so hard, they ripped it. I had to change my shirt again.” 

Sakura’s eyes widen. Naruto, laughs a little. 

“Then…,” Sasuke says. “After feeding the oldest children, I got ready to come here but the little brats kept pestering me to play with them. I had to run out of the compound in order to get away from them.” 

Sasuke, is about to say something else, when the sound of over a dozen pairs of tiny feet running towards the bridge, gets the genins attention. The eyes of Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto all widen instantly. Naruto, grins. 

“Oh look who it is…,” Naruto says. “The kids have caught up to you, Sasuke.” 

Sasuke, sweat drops. He turns around to see his nieces and nephews standing behind him. The children all grin. 

“WE FOUND YOU, UNCLE SASUKE!” The children all cry. 

“Play with us.” Kazuto says. 

Sasuke, frowns and rubs his temples in frustration. “I already told all of you that I can’t play with you today.” Sasuke says. “Now go away!” 

“Play with us Uncle Sasuke.” Akirou says. 

“I said no.” Sasuke says. 

“Please.” Reika says. 

“No.” Sasuke says. 

“Please.” Sayuri says with her puppy dog eyes. 

“No.” Sasuke says again. 

Haruto and Yuuta, grab Sasuke’s arms. The two boys start trying to drag Sasuke back to the compound. 

“Play.” Haruto and Yuuta, both say. 

Sasuke, yanks his arms free. “No!” Sasuke says again. 

“Play...play...play…,” The children all chant. “Play...play...play.” 

Sakura and Naruto both watch the scene a few feet away. Naruto, snickers. Sakura, hits Naruto on the head. 

“Ow, Sakura…,” Naruto whines. “What was that for!?” 

“This is not funny Naruto.” Sakura says. “This is a serious matter. How is Kakashi Sensei supposed to train us if the children won’t leave Sasuke alone?” 

Just then, Kakashi, appears on the bridge. “Sorry I am late, but I—” 

Kakashi, stops mid-sentence when he sees the children, pestering Sasuke. 

“Uncle Sasuke play with us.” Reika says. 

“No!” Sasuke says. 

Sasuke, tries to get away but Akirou and Kazuto, grab his arms. 

“Play...play...play…,” The children chant again. “Play...play...play.” 

Kakashi, sweat drops. _Another typical training day,_ Kakashi thinks to himself.  

* * *

Back in the Uchiha Compound, with the older children gone, the morning chaos has subsided. The infants are unable to run after their older siblings and the one year olds cannot keep up with the older children either. So, the mothers have been left to take care of the rest of the children. 

Inside a quiet room within the infant house, Yukiko, is currently caring for Yamiko, Imari, and Osamu. 

Yukiko, has Yamiko, in a sling. Yamiko, has brown hair, black irises, and pale skin. Yamiko, is currently wrapped in a white blanket. 

On the floor, Imari and Osamu, lie on a blanket. Imari, has black hair, black irises, and very light olive skin. Osamu, has brown hair, black irises, and light skin. 

Yukiko, picks up Imari, and lightly wraps the infant up to her chest with a blanket, and then sets the infant back down on the blanket. Yukiko, does the same with Osamu. A wooden arch has been set up over the blanket. Little toys dangle from the arch. Imari and Osamu, coo and giggle as they try to reach the dangling toys above them. 

Yukiko, sighs and gets up from the floor. She heads over to a rocking chair and sits down. Yukiko, unbuttons her blouse, allowing Yamiko to nurse. 

In a room down the hall, Ikeri, is looking after Isamu, Orenji, Notarou, Rukia, and Mitsuro. 

Isamu, plays with baby toys on a blanket. Orenji and Notarou, crawl around the room. Rukia, plays with some stuffed toys. Rukia, has black hair, black irises, and pale skin. Mitsuro, plays with some foam blocks. 

In the playroom for the one year olds, things are a bit louder. Komone, is looking after, Souta, Amani, Kenji, Chiaki, Choumi, and Senna. 

Souta and Amani, waddle around the room and babble as they play. Kenji, giggles as he plays with some wooden sorting toys. Chiaki, plays with a stuffed cat. Choumi, plays with some foam blocks. Senna, plays with a cloth doll. 

In the house for the three year olds, Keiko, tries to mend clothes at a table. Keiko, is very good at sewing and mending clothes. 

Terashi and Benjiro, walk around the table. The table is not the typical low to the ground table. This table is high and has chairs. The women use this table solely for doing chores such as mending. The highness of the table prevents the little ones from grabbing dangerous objects such as needles, bobby pins, scissors, and thimbles. 

Terashi and Benjiro, tug on Keiko’s kimono. 

“Play.” Both toddlers say. 

Keiko, sighs. “Sorry boys, I can’t.” Keiko says. “I am busy.” 

Keiko, sets the item that she was sewing in a basket. It is completely mended now. Keiko, then grabs Sasuke’s shirt. Keiko, sighs as she notices how big the rips are. Tadase, Yashiro, and Hajime really did a number on this shirt. 

Terashi and Benjiro, grab the legs of the table. The two toddlers shake the table a little. Keiko, frowns. 

“Boys!” Keiko says scoldingly. 

“Bored.” Both toddlers say. “Play with us.” 

Hitomi, enters the room with a basket of laundry. Hitomi, sets down her basket and picks up the two toddlers. Hitomi, takes the two boys to a room with toys. Hitomi, sets the toddlers in front of some blocks. 

“Here…,” Hitomi says. “Play with these.” 

Outside, Saki and Akira, are hanging up clean laundry to dry on the clothes lines. Mitsuko and Natsuko, rummage through the basket and take out clean clothes and throw them around. Saki, picks up the thrown items. 

“No!” Saki says very firmly. 

On the other side of the street, Tamiko, is picking vegetables from a garden. The garden, has a sturdy fence and gate around it keep the children out. 

As Tamiko, opens the gate to get out, Ryuu, giggles and tries to dart past Tamiko into the garden. Tamiko, sets the basket down and grabs Ryuu. 

“Oh no you don’t!” Tamiko says. “You can’t go in there. You’ll destroy everything.” 

As Tamiko, carries Ryuu under one arm and the basket with the other, she barely dodges a ball that bounces towards her. Satoshi and Zakuro, run after the ball and nearly knock Tamiko down. 

“Watch out you two!” Tamiko says. 

Inside the toddler house, Akira, is getting a pot of rice and vegetables ready for lunch in a few hours. Akira, hears a strange noise behind her and turns. She gasps. 

Kohana, holds a pink crayon in her hands. Pink scribbles and drawings cover the lower half of the opposite wall. 

Akira, sighs. “You have got to be kidding me?” Akira says to herself. “Again?” 

* * *

At the training grounds, Sasuke, rubs his temples. He has been trying to practice shuriken with Naruto and Sakura for an hour. However, the kids won’t stop bugging him. 

Sasuke, holds the shuriken. He prepares to throw it, but Kazuto, jumps in front of him. Sasuke, stops and frowns. 

“Uncle Sasuke!” Kazuto cries as he jumps up and down. “Play with us.” 

“Get out of my way you little brat.” Sasuke says. 

Hikari, jumps up and down to Sasuke’s left. “Uncle Sasuke play with us!” Hikari cries. 

“Go away.” Sasuke says. 

Akirou, jumps up and down to Sasuke’s right. “Uncle Sasuke play with us!” Akirou cries. 

Sasuke, frowns. “I said go away.” Sasuke says. “I can’t train with all of you jumping up and down like that.” 

However, the children ignore Sasuke, and continue to jump up and down. Sasuke, grits his teeth. 

“I said go away!” Sasuke says very firmly. “Look, I am a real ninja now. I don’t have time for kids stuff, alright. 

Kazuto and Akirou, grab Sasuke’s arms and the rest of the kids form a big circle. The rest of the kids stretch out their arms as Kazuto and Akirou, hold Sasuke’s arms. Sasuke, struggles to get free. 

“Let go of me you little pests.” Sasuke says. 

“Play…play...play…,” The children all chant. 

In one sweep, all of the children jump on top of Sasuke. Nearby, Sakura and Naruto, watch with wide eyes. Kakashi, who is standing next to them, sighs. 

“Here we go again,” Kakashi quietly says. 

After a bit of shuffling from the kids, Sasuke, reappears. The kids have formed a human platform and are now carrying Sasuke. Sasuke, growls. 

"Put me down this instant you little brats!” Sasuke says. 

“Play...play...play…,” The children all chant again. Suddenly, the sound of many little hungry tummies rumbling gets everyone’s attention. The children all frown. 

“I am hungry.” Sayuri says. “It must be time for lunch.” 

The children, then grin. “YAY, LUNCHTIME!” All of the children cry. 

The children, all start running as fast as they can towards the compound. The children, end up dropping Sasuke, who falls to the ground. Sakura, gasps. 

“Sasuke!” Sakura yells out. “Are you ok?!” 

The children all stop running and turn when they realize what they just did. The children, stare at Sasuke, laying on the ground. 

“Oops…,” Hoshiko says. “We dropped Uncle Sasuke...again.” 


	3. Lunchtime chaos

It is 11:30 am when Sasuke and the older children get back to the compound. 

Sasuke, groans as he walks. He is going to really feel the effects of the children dropping him tomorrow morning. 

_Sometimes I just hate my life so much,_ Sasuke thinks to himself. 

Sasuke and the four year olds enter the 3 to 4 year olds house. The children under 3 head off to their respective house. 

Inside the kitchen, Keiko, Hitomi, and Tamiko are shredding boiled chicken at the counter. Kazuto, Hikari, and Tsukiko, run up to their mothers. 

“Mommy!” Kazuto says. “What’s for lunch?” 

“Chicken and green lentil curry…,” Keiko says. “With rice and steamed vegetables.” 

“YAY!” Kazuto says excitedly. “I love curry with rice and vegetables!” 

Hikari, jumps up and down beside Hitomi. “When will lunch be ready mommy?” Hikari asks Hitomi. 

Hitomi, sighs. “In another 20 minutes.” Hitomi says. 

Hikari, frowns as her stomach rumbles. “But I am hungry now!” Hikari says. 

“Yeah!” Kazuto says. “We want our lunch now!” 

“Hungry now.” Tsukiko whines as she stands by Tamiko. “Lunch now.” 

The other children are now pinching a fit. Akirou, whines and stomps around the room. 

“Hungry!” Akirou says. “I want food now!” 

Masaru, sits on the floor and begins crying. 

“Food!” Masaru cries. “I want food!” 

Sasuke, groans and rubs his temples. He makes a quick exit. He must help Saki, Motoko, and Komone, feed the one to two year olds. Ikeri and Yukiko, already fed the babies. Ikeri and Yukiko, are now getting the babies ready for their nap. 

Sasuke, walks across the street and enters the house. Crying from small children can be heard. Sasuke, groans and enters the kitchen. Motoko, stirs a pot of chicken and green lentil curry. Mitsuko and Natsuko, pull on Motoko’s skirt. 

“Hungry!” Mitsuko cries. 

“Food!” Natsuko cries. “Food!” 

Saki, fills up sippy cups with water. She stands next to a steamer pot filled with veggies. Every minute or so, Saki, checks the vegetables. Satoshi, Terashi, and Zakuro tug on Saki’s skirt. 

“Mama, hungry!” Satoshi cries. 

“It will be ready in a minute,” Saki says. “Just hold—”

“Hungry!” Terashi cries out, cutting Saki off. “Hungry now!”  

“Food!” Zakuro cries out. Zakuro, then sits down at Saki’s feet and wails at the top of his lungs. 

Komone, fluffs up a pot of boiled rice. Kenji and Chiaki, hold onto Komone’s skirt and wail at the top of their lungs. 

“Foo!” Kenji wails. “Foo now!” 

“Foo!” Chiaki wails. “Foo! Foo!” 

Ryuu and Benjiro, walk around the room and wail. 

“Food!” Ryuu says as he wails. “Food!” 

“Want food!” Benjiro says over and over. 

Senna and Choumi, sit on the floor and cry. 

“Foo!” Sena cries. “Foo!” 

“Foo now!” Choumi cries. “Foo now!” 

Sasuke, grits his teeth and covers his ears. Then, Sasuke, feels his shirt being tugged on. Sasuke, looks down. Kohana, tugs on the end of Sasuke’s shirt and cries. 

“Uncle Sasuke!” Kohana cries. “I want food!” 

Sasuke, grits his teeth again. Even with his ears covered Sasuke can still hear the kids crying. 

A minute later, Saki, grabs the kids dishes. The food must be ready. 

Sasuke, picks up Kohana and sets her down at the table. Sasuke, then gets Ryuu and Benjiro. Sasuke, places the two boys at the table. Sasuke, then gets Senna and Choumi, and brings them to the table as well. 

Sasuke, then goes to get Kenji and Chiaki. Komone, takes a minute to pry the children off of her skirt. Sasuke, takes a toddler under each arm and takes them over to the table. Sasuke, places Kenji and Chiaki next to Choumi. 

Time to get Mitsuko and Natsuko. Sasuke, prys Natsuko off of Motoko’s skirt. Motoko, pry’s Mitsuko off of her skirt. The two little toddler are so cranky they thrash as Sasuke, tries to pick them up. Mitsuko, ends up kicking Sasuke in the knee. Sasuke, winces. 

“Mitsuko!” Motoko says aghast. “That wasn’t nice.” 

Sasuke, decides to take the two girls to the table one at a time. Sasuke, carries Mitsuko to the table first and then goes back to get Natsuko. Natsuko, thrashes and wails as Sasuke, carries her to the table. Sasuke, sets Natsuko down next to Mitsuko. 

Sasuke, then goes over to get Satoshi, Zakuro, and Terashi. Sasuke, picks up Zakuro, who is still wailing at Saki’s feet. Sasuke, quickly carries Zakuro over to the table. Sasuke, goes back to get Satoshi and Terashi. Sasuke, has to pry Satoshi and Terashi, off of Saki’s skirt. Sasuke, carries one boy under each arm to the table. 

Yukiko, walks into the kitchen. Her and Ikeri just got the babies down for their naps. Yukiko, grabs filled dishes and rushes them to the table. Sasuke, runs over to the counter and grabs filled dishes as well. Sasuke, comes back and places dishes in front of children. Saki, follows with sippy cups. 

Slowly but surely, the children stop crying and look at the food in front of them. Within minutes the children start digging into their food. 

Komone, Saki, Motoko, and Yukiko just sit down on the floor to take a breather. Sasuke, simply heads out the door. Time to repeat the process with the two to three year olds. 

* * *

Sasuke, winces as the sound of children screaming and crying fills his ears. The two to three year olds are pinching quite the fit today. 

Akashi and Aiko, pull on Aika’s skirt. Aika, is trying to stir a pot of curry. 

“Stop it you two.” Aika says. “It will be ready in just a minute.” 

“Food now!” Akashi says angrily. “Food now!” 

“Want food now!” Aiko screams. “Want food now!” 

Akira, is fluffing up some rice. A big pot of steamed vegetables sits in the burner nearby. Hajime, Tadase, and Umeko, jump up and down and try to reach the pot. Akira, reprimands the children. 

“Stop!” Akira says firmly. “If you grab the pot it will fall over!” 

“HUNGRY!” All three children scream together. “Hungry!” 

Yuri, Mio, Himeko, Tomome, and Yashiro, all stomp around the kitchen and wail at the top of their lungs. 

“FOOD!” Yashiro screams out. “I want food!” 

“HUNGRY!” Himeko and Mio scream together. 

“FOOD NOW!” Yuri screams. “Food now!” 

“I WANT MY FOOD NOW!” Tomone screams. 

Akira, looks over to Sasuke, and points to the table. Sasuke, understands perfectly. The food must be done. Sasuke, begins grabbing children and carrying them over to the table. Within minutes, Sasuke, has carried all of the children over to the table. Akira and Aika, quickly follow with plates and water cups. 

The children stop crying and screaming. They look at their plates. The children start digging into their food. Akira and Aika, sit down and sigh. Sasuke, leaves the kitchen. Time to go help Keiko, Hitomi, and Tamiko, with the oldest children. 

* * *

Sasuke, sighs. He just stand in the kitchen as the children cry, whine, and scream. 

Kazuto, Akirou, Haruto, and Yuuta sit at the table and whine endlessly. 

“Hungry…,” Kazuto says with a whiney voice. “I want food.” 

“Hungry.” Akirou whines. “I want my food now.” 

“I want my lunch.” Haruto whines. “I want my lunch.” 

“I want food.” Yuuta whines.

At the opposite side of the table. Hikari, Tsukiko, and Reika, whine. 

“So hungry.” Hikari whines. “I am so hungry.” 

“Hungry.” Tsukiko whines. 

“Food.” Reika whines. 

Masaru, Hoshiko, and Sayuri sit on the floor and cry. 

“Food!” Masaru cries. “Food!” 

“Food now!” Hoshiko cries. “Food now!” 

“Hungry!” Sayuri cries. 

Raiden and Kaida, sit on the floor nearby and scream at the top of their lungs. 

“FOOD!” Raiden screams. “FOOD!” 

“HUNGRY!” Kaida screams. “HUNGRY!” 

Sasuke, grits his teeth. These children are little monsters. 

Keiko, stirs a pot of curry. She looks at Sasuke and nods. Sasuke, nods back and gets right to work. Sasuke, picks up the screaming Raiden and sets the young boy at the table. 

“Stop screaming!” Sasuke says. “Your lunch is done. Your food will be here in a few minutes.” 

Sasuke, then goes back to get Kaida. Kaida, cries as Sasuke carries her. 

“Hungry Uncle Sasuke!” Kaida cries. 

“The food is done.” Sasuke says. “Just wait a few minutes until your plate is ready.” 

Sasuke, sets Kaida down at the table. 

Sasuke, runs over to Masaru, Hoshiko, and Sayuri. Sasuke, picks Masaru up and carries the little boy over to the table. Sasuke, then returns for Hoshiko. Sasuke, carries Hoshiko to the table. Sasuke, then gets Sayuri. Sasuke, sets Sayuri down next to Hoshiko. 

Sasuke, then runs to the counter where plates of prepared food are waiting. Sasuke, begins setting plates down in front of the children. Tamiko, follows with cups of water. 

The children slowly stop screaming, whining and crying. The children look at their plates of food. The children immediately dig into their plates of food. 

Keiko, Tamiko, Hitomi, and Sasuke, sit down in some nearby chairs. Sasuke, takes a deep breath. Even though the screaming and crying from the children is horrible to listen too, there is one upside of the children being that hungry when the food is served. Sasuke and the mothers have never dealt with picky eaters. The children are so hungry at mealtimes they will eat whatever is set in front of them. Sasuke has heard many stories from others about picky eaters and many of them are fit for horror films. Sasuke, is at least glad that he doesn’t have to deal with picky eaters. Sasuke, would probably go insane if that were the case. 

Five minutes later, Kazuto, finishes his meal. Kazuto, holds up his empty plate. 

“More please!” Kazuto says. 

Keiko, takes Kazuto plate, and goes to put a little more food on it. No sooner has Keiko, returned with the plate for Kazuto, more children ask for seconds. 

Sasuke, Tamiko, and Hitomi, get up and start filling plates. 

“More!” Raiden cries as he waits for his second plate. 

“More!” Hoshiko says as she holds up her empty plate. 

“More!” Akirou says as he waits for his second helping. “More! More!” 

“More mama!” Tsukiko says. “More food mama!” 

Sasuke, and the mothers rush to fill plates as the children keep crying for seconds.  

“More!” Masaru cries. “More!” 

“More!” Sayuri cries. “More water too!” 

“More!” Haruto and Yuuta both say together. “More food! More food!” 

“More!” Kaida cries as she holds up her empty plate. “More!” 

“More!” Reika says loudly. “More!” 

After a few more minutes, all of the children have gotten second helpings. Sasuke, Keiko, Tamiko, and Hitomi sit back down. 

Sasuke, sighs as he looks up at the clock. Soon, it will be time to put the toddlers and oldest children down for a nap. Getting the little monsters down for their nap can be quite a struggle.


	4. Naptime struggles

Sasuke, Saki, Motoko, Komone, and Yukiko all lay out the children’s futons in the nap room in the house for the one year olds.  ****  
****

Sasuke, turns his attention to Zakuro first. Sasuke, picks up Zakuro, and places the toddler on the futon. Sasuke, places Zakuro’s blue baby blanket next to the young boy. Zakuro, smiles and cuddles the blanket. Sasuke, then puts Zakuro’s stuffed blue stegosaurus next to Zakuro. Zakuro, smiles and then cuddles with his toy. Sasuke, covers Zakuro with a blanket.  ****  
****

Nearby, Komone, prepares Chiaki’s futon. Komone, picks up Chiaki and places the small girl on the futon. Komone, places Chiaki’s stuffed husky and purple baby blanket next to her. Chiaki, smiles and cuddles the objects as she lays on the futon. Komone, then covers Chiaki with a blanket.  ****  
****

Komone and Sasuke step back. Out of the one to two year olds, Chiaki and Zakuro, are the easy sleepers. The two toddlers will lay down on their futons without a fight. Just give the children their comfort objects and they will be more than happy to go to sleep.  ****  
****

Yukiko, brings in Choumi, Kohana, and Benjiro. These three are a little more difficult when it comes to sleeping. They need a little bit of gentle persuasion.  ****  
****

“Alright you three,” Yukiko says to the three toddlers. “It is time for your daily nap.”  ****  
****

Kohana, Choumi, and Benjiro frown a little.  ****  
****

“I am not sleepy.” Kohana says.  ****  
****

“Not sleepy.” Benjiro declares.  ****  
****

Choumi, shakes her head. “No nap.” Choumi says.  ****  
****

Yukiko, picks up Choumi and places Choumi on her futon. Choumi, frowns.  ****  
****

“No nap!” Choumi says again.  ****  
****

Komone, picks up Kohana, and places the little girl on her futon. Sasuke, picks up Benjiro and places the young boy on his futon. Kohana and Benjiro frown.  ****  
****

“Not sleepy!” Kohana declares.  ****  
****

“No sleep!” Benjiro says.  ****  
****

“Sleep is very important for little children like you.” Komone says.  ****  
****

“Once you lay down long enough you will feel sleepy.” Yukiko says.  ****  
****

Kohana, sits up. “Then I won’t lay down!” Kohana says.  ****  
****

Komone, holds Kohana’s stuffed white kitten and white baby blanket so that Kohana, can see them. Kohana’s eyes widen. She absolutely adores her stuffed kitten and baby blanket. ****  
****

“Naps are not all that bad…,” Komone says. “When you take your nap you get to cuddle your kitty and baby blanket. Don’t you like cuddling with your kitty and blankie?”  ****  
****

“Yes!” Kohana says. “Yes I do!”  ****  
****

Kohana, reaches for the objects but Komone, holds them away from Kohana.  ****  
****

“You have to lie down first.” Komone says.  ****  
****

Kohana, lies down. Komone, hands Kohana, her baby blanket first. Kohana, tucks the corner of the blanket under her chin. Komone, then hands Kohana, her stuffed kitten. Kohana, smiles and cuddles the toy. Komone, covers little Kohana with a blanket.  ****  
****

Yukiko, holds Choumi’s stuffed gray and white kitten and purple baby blanket. Choumi’s eyes widen.  ****  
****

“Look Choumi…,” Yukiko says. “Here is your stuffed kitty and special blankie. Taking a nap means that you get to spend quality time with your kitty and blankie.”  ****  
****

Choumi, reaches for her comfort objects. Yukiko, pulls the objects away.  ****  
****

“Hold on…,” Yukiko says. “You need to lie down first.”  ****  
****

Choumi, lies down. Yukiko, hands Choumi, the stuffed kitten and blanket. Choumi, smiles and cuddles the objects. Yukiko, then covers Choumi with a blanket. ****  
****

Sasuke, grabs Benjiro’s stuffed green dinosaur. Sasuke, thinks that it is supposed to be called an iguanodon. Sasuke, then grabs Benjiro’s green baby blanket. Benjiro’s eyes widen instantly.  ****  
****

“Here is your dinosaur.” Sasuke says as he holds the stuffed toy with his left hand. Sasuke, holds up the baby blanket with his right hand. “And here is your special blanket. If you lie down, I will give them to you.”  ****  
****

Benjiro, lies down instantly. Sasuke, gives Benjiro, the objects. Benjiro, smiles and cuddles his comfort items. Sasuke, quickly puts a blanket over Benjiro.  ****  
****

After a few minutes, Sasuke, Komone, and Yukiko, get up and step away. Yukiko, leaves the room for a few minutes. When Yukiko comes back she has Motoko, Senna, Mitsuko, and Natsuko with her.  ****  
****

Sasuke, quietly sighs. Senna, Mitsuko, and Natsuko can be very resistant. The three girls will repeatedly get off of their futons. It usually takes about a few times of putting them back onto their futons, before they will give up.  ****  
****

Motoko, puts Mitsuko on her futon. Mitsuko, jumps up and tries to run out of the room.  ****  
****

“Not sleepy!” Mitsuko cries. Mitsuko, makes a beeline for the doorway. However, Yukiko, blocks the doorway. Motoko, scoops Mitsuko up and places Mitsuko back on her futon. Mitsuko, cries.  ****  
****

“No Nap!” Mitsuko cries.  ****  
****

Komone, picks up Senna, and places Senna on her futon. Senna, jumps up and tries to run out of the room. Yukiko, again blocks the doorway.  ****  
****

“No nap!” Senna cries as Komone scoops her up and carries her back to the futon.  ****  
****

Sasuke, grabs Natsuko, and places the young toddler on her futon. Natsuko, jumps up and tries to escape from the room.  ****  
****

“No nap!” Natsuko cries. Natsuko, almost makes it to the door, but Sasuke, catches her just in time.  ****  
****

Mitsuko, jumps off of her futon again, but Motoko grabs her. Motoko, places Mitsuko back on the futon. Mitsuko, whines.  ****  
****

“Not sleepy.” Mitsuko whines. “I don’t wanna take a nap.” ****  
****

Senna, jumps off of her futon again. Komone, grabs Senna and places her back on the futon. Senna, pounds her little fists on the futon.  ****  
****

“No nap!” Senna cries. “No nap!”  ****  
****

Sasuke, carries Natsuko back to the futon. Sasuke, places the whining Natsuko on the futon. Natsuko tries to jump off of her futon, but Sasuke catches her. Sasuke, places Natsuko, back on the futon. Natsuko, cries.  ****  
****

“No nap!” Natsuko cries. “No nap!”  ****  
****

Senna and Mitsuko, again try to jump off of their futons and leave the room. However, with Yukiko, guarding the doorway, the two toddlers can’t escape. Komone and Motoko, carry Senna and Mitsuko back to their futons. Senna and Mitsuko both wail.  ****  
****

“No nap!” The two girls cry together. “No nap!”  ****  
****

Komone, picks up Senna’s stuffed pink dolphin and pink baby blanket. Senna, stops wailing and stares at the objects.  ****  
****

“Here Senna…,” Komone says. “Here is your dolphin and special blankie. Naptime is cuddle time with your dolphin and blankie.”  ****  
****

Senna, blinks a few times. The little girl then reaches for the objects, but Komone, holds them away.  ****  
****

“You must lay down first.” Komone says.  ****  
****

Senna, lays down on the futon. Komone, hands the stuffed dolphin and blanket to Senna.  ****  
****

Sasuke, watches as Motoko, picks up Mitsuko’s stuffed pink dinosaur. The dinosaur is a type of duck billed dinosaur. Sasuke thinks that it is supposed to be called a saurolophus.  ****  
****

“Mitsuko…,” Motoko says getting her daughters attention. “Look at what I have.”  ****  
****

Mitsuko, stops wailing. She stares at the toy. Motoko, then picks up Mitsuko’s pink baby blanket.  ****  
****

“Look, Here is your dinosaur and blankie.” Motoko says. “If you lay down and take your nap, you will be able to cuddle with your dinosaur and blankie.”  ****  
****

Mitsuko, blinks and lays down. She holds her arms out for her comfort objects. Motoko, hands her daughter the dinosaur and blanket.  ****  
****

Sasuke, holds up Natsuko’s stuffed dinosaur and lilac colored baby blanket. Natsuko’s dinosaur is a saurolophus, just like Mitsuko’s, but it is lilac colored.  ****  
****

“Natsuko…,” Sasuke says, getting his niece’s attention. “If you stop crying and lay down, I will give you your dinosaur and blanket.”  ****  
****

Natsuko, stops crying and looks at the objects. Natsuko, lays down on the futon. Sasuke, hands Natsuko, the dinosaur and blanket.  ****  
****

“Good girl…,” Sasuke says. “Now, all you have to do is lay here and sleep for a few hours.”  ****  
****

Sasuke, stands up and looks at the doorway. Now, it is time for the hardcore resisters. Yukiko, leaves the room for a few minutes. When Yukiko comes back, she has Saki, Satoshi, Terashi, Ryuu, and Kenji with her.  ****  
****

“Come on boys…,” Saki says. “Come with us.”  ****  
****

The four little boys, frown as they enter the room. Their eyes widen. They may be young but they know what futons set out in this room mean. It is naptime.  ****  
****

“NO!” All four boys scream together. “NO NAP!”  ****  
****

Terashi, Satoshi, Ryuu, and Kenji, try to run out of the room. Yukiko, tries to block the doorway. However, Terashi slips by her and exits the room. Sasuke, runs after the little boy.  ****  
****

“Come here you little brat!” Sasuke says through gritted teeth.  ****  
****

“NO NAP!” Terashi screams. “NO NAP!”  ****  
****

Terashi, almost makes it out the front door. Sasuke, grabs Terashi and carries the boy back to the nap room. Terashi, thrashes around in Sasuke’s arms.  ****  
****

“NO NAP!” Terashi screams. “NO NAP!”  ****  
****

Sasuke, grits his teeth. Seriously, it is like this everyday.  ****  
****

Sasuke, makes it back to the room. Yukiko, lets Sasuke in.  ****  
****

Satoshi, Ryuu, and Kenji, wail on their futons. Satoshi, tries to get up and run away. Saki, grabs her son and puts him back on the futon. Satoshi, wails even more.  ****  
****

“NO NAP MAMA!” Satoshi screams. “I DON’T WANT TO TAKE A NAP!”  ****  
****

Ryuu, beats his fists on his futon.  ****  
****

“NO NAP!” Ryuu screams.  ****  
****

Kenji, tries to jump off of his futon. Komone, grabs Kenji, and lays him back down on the futon. Kenji, sits up right away.  ****  
****

“NO NAP!” Kenji wails. “NO NAP!”  ****  
****

Sasuke, grits his teeth and lays Terashi down on a futon. Terashi, wails and sits up.  ****  
****

“NO NAP!” Terashi wails as he thrashes around on the futon. “NO NAP!”  ****  
****

Sasuke, frowns and rubs his temples. What did he ever do to deserve this kind of torture? ****  
****

….about five minutes later… ****  
****

All is silent in the nap room. Terashi, Ryuu, Satoshi, and Kenji, lay silently on their futons. The four boys ran out of energy to continue their tantrums. Sasuke, sighs. Now, him, Yukiko, and Motoko, must go over to the two to three year old's house in order to help with naptime there.  ****  
****

* * *

Sasuke, lays Himeko down on a futon. Himeko, whines and sits up.  ****  
****

“Not sleepy uncle Sasuke!” Himeko declares.  ****  
****

Sasuke, holds Himeko’s stuffed pink pegasus. Himeko’s eyes widen. Sasuke, then grabs Himeko’s pink baby blanket.  ****  
****

“Here is your pegasus and blanket.” Sasuke says. “Don’t you wanna have some cuddle time with them?”  ****  
****

Himeko, blinks and then nods slowly.  ****  
****

“I thought so.” Sasuke says. “Alright. First, you have to lie down. I shall count to three and if you are still laying down when I get to three, you can have them.”  ****  
****

Himeko, lays down on the futon. Sasuke, starts counting.  ****  
****

“One…,” Sasuke says. Himeko, does not sit up.  ****  
****

“Two…,” Sasuke says. Himeko, still doesn’t sit up.  ****  
****

“Three…,” Sasuke says. Himeko, is still lying on her back. Sasuke, grins and hands Himeko the stuffed pegasus and blanket.  ****  
****

Sasuke, stands up and looks around. Akira and Aika, are busy persuading Mio and Daichi to lay down. Aiko and Tomone, are already asleep. Out of the two to three year olds, Aiko and Tomone, are the easy sleepers. Himeko, Mio, and Daichi are the ones who need a little persuasion.  ****  
****

Finally, Akira and Aika, stand up. Mio and Daichi are finally lying down. Yukiko, brings in Yuri, Tadase, and Umeko. The three children frown.  ****  
****

Sasuke, picks up Tadase. Akira, picks up Yuri. Aika, picks up Umeko.  ****  
****

Sasuke, places Tadase, on a futon. Tadase, jumps up and tries to run away. Sasuke, grabs Tadase, and lays the little boy back down. Tadase, whines.  ****  
****

“I don’t want to take a nap, uncle Sasuke.” Tadase says. Tadase, tries to jump up again, but Sasuke catches him. Sasuke, lays Tadase back down.  ****  
****

“No nap!” Tadase cries. “I don’t want to take a nap!”  ****  
****

Sasuke, resists the urge to grit his teeth. Tadase, jumps up and makes a beeline for the door. Sasuke, chases Tadase, and grabs him. Tadase, struggles in Sasuke’s grasp.  ****  
****

“No nap!” Tadase says. “No nap!”  ****  
****

Sasuke, simply carries Tadase, back to the futon. Sasuke, lays Tadase down and then grabs a stuffed blue triceratops. Tadase, stops whining immediately. Sasuke, then grabs a blue baby blanket.  ****  
****

“Alright Tadase…,” Sasuke says. “If you don’t wanna take a nap, then I guess you don’t wanna cuddle with your dinosaur and blanket.”  ****  
****

Tadase, whimpers and reaches for the objects. Sasuke, holds them away from the child.  ****  
****

“If you want them, you have to lay down and sleep.” Sasuke says.  ****  
****

Tadase, lays down on the futon. Sasuke, hands Tadase the stuffed triceratops and blanket.  ****  
****

Sasuke, stands up and looks around. Akira and Aika, have gotten Yuri and Umeko to lay down on their futons. Now, it is time for the hard core resisiters.  ****  
****

Yukiko, brings in Akashi, Yashiro, Chihaku, and Hajime. The four boys instantly try to escape. Yukiko, blocks the door.  ****  
****

“NO!” All four of the boys cry. “WE DON’T WANNA TAKE A NAP!”  ****  
****

Aika, grabs Akashi and takes him over to a futon. Akira, grabs Chihaku. Sasuke, grabs Yashiro. Yukiko, makes a grab for Hajime. However, Hajime dodges Yukiko, and escapes out the door.  ****  
****

Sasuke, grits his teeth and hands Yashiro to Yukiko. Sasuke, runs after Hajime.  ****  
****

“Come back here!” Sasuke yells.  ****  
****

“No!” Hajime cries. “I said that I don’t wanna take a nap!”  ****  
****

“Too bad.” Sasuke yells. “You have to take a nap or you will be miserable later.”  ****  
****

“No nap!” Hajime yells back. “No nap! No nap!”  ****  
****

Sasuke, grits his teeth and follows Hajime out the front door. However, to Sasuke’s surprise and annoyance, it is pouring outside. When did it start raining? ****  
****

Sasuke, narrows his eyes as he chases Hajime through the compound, getting soaked in the process. This is so not his day.  ****  
****

...five minutes later… ****  
****

Sasuke, enters the house, soaked to the bone. He carries an equally soaked Hajime, under his arm.  ****  
****

Yukiko, steps into the entryway. Her eyes widen.  ****  
****

“Oh my…,” Yukiko says. “We managed to get Chihaku, Akashi, and Yashiro to stop screaming, and then we realized it was raining. I had hoped that Hajime didn’t run outside.”  ****  
****

Sasuke, grumbles. “Just take him.” Sasuke says. “I have to go home and change.”  ****  
****

* * *

Sasuke, sighs as he carries a struggling Raiden, over to a futon. After going home and changing out of his wet clothes, Sasuke put on a rain cloak and headed over to the oldest children’s house. To Sasuke’s surprise, most of the children were laying down on their futons. Usually when Sasuke, gets here to help, only Hoshiko, Masaru, Hikari, Tsukiko, and Reika are asleep. Hoshiko and Masaru, are easy sleepers. Hikari, Tsukiko, and Reika, put up some resistance. However, Keiko, Tamiko, and Hitomi can get the three girls down for their nap without Sasuke’s help. It is the rest of the children that the three women need help with.  ****  
****

Sasuke, looks over at Yuuta, Sayuri, and Kaida. These three usually put up a good deal of resistance. However, due to the rain, they realized that they could not go out and play and that it was worthless to resist their nap. Yuuta, Sayuri, and Kaida, lied down for Keiko, Tamiko, and Hitomi with little resistance. However, the hardcore resisters; Kazuto, Akirou, Haruto, and Raiden, don’t seem to care about the rain. The four boys are putting up the usual fight.  ****  
****

Sasuke, sets Raiden down on the futon. Raiden, tries to get up, but Sasuke, forces Raiden back down. Raiden, cries.  ****  
****

“I don’t wanna take a nap!” Raiden cries. “No nap for me!”  ****  
****

Sasuke, grits his teeth. “It is raining outside!” Sasuke says, stating the obvious.  ****  
****

Keiko, is flustered as she tries to get Kazuto down for his nap. Kazuto, cries.  ****  
****

“No nap mama!” Kazuto cries. “No nap!”  ****  
****

Tamiko, lays Haruto down on his futon. Haruto, thrashes and screams.  ****  
****

“No!” Haruto yells. “I don’t want to take a nap!”  ****  
****

Hitomi, tries to make Akirou, lie down on his futon. Akirou, huffs and refuses to lie down.  ****  
****

“I don’t need a nap.” Akirou says. “I don’t care if I get a little wet. I want to play!”  ****  
****

“Yeah!” Kazuto says. “It is just a little rain.”  ****  
****

Sasuke and the mothers look at each other. Do these boys not realize how hard it is raining outside?  ****  
****

Sasuke, grabs Raiden’s arm. He looks at Keiko, Tamiko, and Hitomi. Keiko, grabs Kazuto. Tamiko, grabs Haruto. Hitomi, grabs Akirou. Sasuke and the three women lead the boys towards the door. Sasuke, slides open the door. Kazuto’s eyes widen at the sight of the pouring rain. He looks at his half-brothers. Raiden, Haruto, and Akirou are all speechless.  ****  
****

“Does that look like a little rain to you?” Sasuke asks.  ****  
****

Kazuto, shakes his head. “No.” Kazuto says.  ****  
****

“Do the four of you really want to go out and play in that?” Keiko asks.  ****  
****

Kazuto, Akirou, Raiden and Haruto, hold their heads down. “No…,” All four boys say together.  ****  
****

“Good.” Hitomi says. “Now come and take your nap.”  ****  
****

Kazuto, Akirou, Raiden, and Haruto, follow their guardians without another word. Once inside the nap room the boys voluntarily go and lay down on their futons. Sasuke and the mothers sigh.  ****  
****

Sasuke, looks out a window. With it raining like this, there will be no more training for today. What should he do now?  ****  
****

Just then, Sasuke, comes up with a brilliant idea. Sasuke, heads back towards the entryway and puts his rain cloak back on. Sasuke, slides open the door and leaves.  ****  
****

* * *

Sasuke, dries off his sandals in the entryway of his house. Sasuke, then heads upstairs to his room. Once inside, Sasuke, collapses onto his bed.  ****  
****

Usually, Sasuke would go back to the training ground after putting the children down for their nap. However, with it raining, that is not an option. So, Sasuke is gonna do the best thing that he can do until the children wake up from their nap. Sasuke, is gonna take a nap himself. Heck, the children will be asleep for at least two hours, so why not get a little extra snooze time. Sasuke, could use a few extra hours of sleep, especially after his rotten day.  ****  
****

Sasuke, takes a deep breath as he pulls the covers over himself. Sasuke, closes his eyes and lets sleep overtake him.  **  
**


	5. Afternoon Horror

Sasuke, twitches slightly in his sleep. Just then, he feels something jump on him. Sasuke, sits up right away. Kazuto, sits on Sasuke’s body. Kazuto, smiles widely. 

Sasuke, frowns. He looks at his clock. It is 3:00 pm. Sasuke, then looks around. His oldest nieces and nephews surround his bed. The children all smile. The little monsters have woken up from their nap. 

“Play with us Uncle Sasuke!” Kazuto cries. 

“Get off of me.” Sasuke says through gritted teeth. 

“Play...play...play…,” The children all chant. 

Sasuke, looks out his window. It is still raining. The rain means that Sasuke, can still not go out and train. Sasuke, rubs his temples. He knows what this means. Non-stop pestering. Oh joy. 

* * *

Kazuto and Akirou, drag Sasuke towards the playroom. Sasuke, grits his teeth. Sasuke, quickly pulls his arms away. 

“I said that I don’t want to play with you!” Sasuke says. “Leave me alone!” 

Kazuto and Akirou, grab Sasuke’s arms again. The two boys drag Sasuke over to an area littered with toy swords and toy shuriken. 

“Play ninja with us Uncle Sasuke.” Kazuto says. 

Sasuke, pulls his arms away. “No!” Sasuke says. 

Just then, Hikari and Reika, grab Sasuke’s arms and start dragging him over to a dollhouse. 

“Play dollies with us Uncle Sasuke.” Hikari says. 

Sasuke, grits his teeth again. He pulls his arms away. 

“No!” Sasuke says. “Boys don’t play with dolls!” 

Tsukiko and Sayuri, then grab Sasuke’s arms. The two girls drag Sasuke over to a play table with a toy tea set. 

“Play tea party with us Uncle Sasuke.” Sayuri says. 

Sasuke, grits his teeth. 

“Boys don’t play tea party either!” Sasuke says. 

Masaru, then grabs one of Sasuke’s arms and starts dragging his uncle over to an area with toy dinosaurs. Raiden, is waiting in the area. 

“Play dinosaurs with us Uncle Sasuke.” Masaru says. 

Sasuke, manages to pry his arm away. “No!” Sasuke says. 

Sasuke, grits his teeth. “Look!” Sasuke says. “I don’t have time for kids stuff. I am not a little kid anymore.” 

The children all frown. They surround their uncle. 

“Play...play...play.” The children all chant. “Play...play...play.” 

Hoshiko and Yuuta, grab Sasuke’s arms and start dragging him over to a table with art supplies. 

“Color with us Uncle Sasuke.” Hoshiko says. 

Sasuke, pulls his arms away. “No!” Sasuke says. 

Haruto, grabs Sasuke’s arm. 

“Play hide and seek with us Uncle Sasuke.” Haruto says. 

Sasuke, pulls his arm out of Haruto’s grasp. 

“I said no!” Sasuke says. 

Just then, the children between two and three walk into the playroom. The children must have put on their rain cloaks to come here. 

Yuri, Aiko, and Mio, run to a storage container and pull out play outfits and play makeup. 

“Play dress up with us Uncle Sasuke.” Yuri cries out. 

Sasuke’s eyes widen. “No!” Sasuke says. 

Yashiro and Akashi, grab some building blocks. 

“Play blocks with us Uncle Sasuke.” Akashi yells. 

Sasuke, grits his teeth. “No!” Sasuke says. 

Chihaku and Daichi, jump up and down around Sasuke. 

“Uncle Sasuke!” Chihaku cries. “Piggyback ride!” 

“Piggyback ride! Piggyback ride!” Daichi cries. 

Sasuke, growls. “No!” Sasuke says. “Absolutely not!” 

“Please…,” Chihaku pleads. 

“No!” Sasuke says again. 

“Please…,” Daichi says pleadingly. 

“No!” Sasuke says again. “No means no!” 

“Please...please...please,” Both Chihaku and Daichi chant together. “Please...please...please.” 

Sasuke, grits his teeth and runs out of the room. The children follow him. 

“COME BACK UNCLE SASUKE!” The children all yell. “PLAY WITH US!” 

“I said no!” Sasuke says. “What part about ‘no’ don’t you all understand?!” 

“PLAY!” The children all scream. “PLAY!” 

The children end up cornering Sasuke, against a wall. Kazuto and Akirou, grab Sasuke’s arms and start dragging him back towards the playroom. 

“I said that I don’t want to play with you!” Sasuke says. “I am not a little kid anymore.” 

Kazuto and Akirou, drag Sasuke into the playroom and grab toy swords. Kazuto and Akirou, begin to playfully whack Sasuke with the swords. 

“Ouch!” Sasuke says. “Stop it right now!” 

However, Kazuto and Akirou, don’t listen and continue to whack their uncle with the toy swords. Kazuto and Akirou, both giggle and laugh. 

“Yay!” Both Kazuto and Akirou say. “We are getting you uncle Sasuke!” 

Sasuke, manages to get away from Kazuto and Akirou. However, Chihaku and Daichi, both jump onto Sasuke’s back. 

“Piggyback!” Chihaku and Daichi both cry. “Piggyback! Piggy back ride uncle Sasuke!” 

Sasuke, growls and tries to get off of the floor. 

“Get off of me you little brats!” Sasuke yells. “I said no earlier when you asked for a piggyback ride. I still mean no!” 

“Piggyback ride!” Chihaku cries. “Piggyback ride!” 

“Piggyback ride!” Daichi cries. “Piggyback ride!” 

Sasuke, growls even more and tries to get up again. However, Sasuke, cannot get up. Chihaku and Daichi, have Sasuke pinned down. 

Just then, Aiko, Yuri, and Mio walk up. The three girls hold containers full of play makeup. Sasuke’s eyes widen. 

“Don’t you dare.” Sasuke says with a growl. 

“Play!” Aiko says. She pulls out a container of play mascara. Aiko, then applies the mascare to Sasuke’s eyelashes. 

“Stop!” Sasuke yells. 

“Play!” Yuri says. Yuri, then pulls out a container of sparkly blue eyeliner. Yuri, applies the eyeliner under Sasuke’s eyes. 

“I said stop!” Sasuke yells. 

“Play!” Mio says with a giggle. Mio, grabs a container full of blush. Mio, applies the blush to Sasuke’s cheeks. 

“Stop!” Sasuke yells again. 

The three girls giggle. Yuri, then pulls out a tube of bright red lipstick. Sasuke, gasps. Yuri, applies the lipstick to Sasuke’s lips. 

“Get this makeup off of me right now!” Sasuke says. 

Aiko, runs off and grabs a tiara and some hair bows. Sasuke, gasps even more. 

“NO!” Sasuke yells. 

Yuri and Mio, then pull out some nail polish. Sasuke’s eyes widen. 

Yuri and Mio, grab Sasuke’s hands and start applying nail polish to their uncle’s fingernails. Aiko, ties the hairbows to Sasuke’s spiky hair. Aiko, finishes with the tiara. Mio and Yuri, finish painting Sasuke’s fingernails. 

Aiko, giggles and grabs a toy mirror. Sasuke, just stares in horror at his face. 

“We made Uncle Sasuke pretty!” Aiko giggles. 

Soon, the other children burst out laughing. 

Sasuke, growls. He absolutely hates these little brats. 

…ten minutes later…

Sasuke, emerges from the bathroom. After sitting on Sasuke’s back for five minutes, Chihaku and Daichi, got bored and got off of Sasuke’s back. Sasuke, took this opportunity to get out of the playroom and wash off the makeup. 

Sasuke, is about to turn towards the stairway when the sound of little feet catches his attention. Sasuke, turns to see his nieces and nephews standing there. 

“Uncle Sasuke play!” The children all yell. 

Sasuke, grits his teeth. “Go away!” Sasuke says. 

Sasuke, then looks towards a clock. It is ten minutes to four. It is almost time for the babies to have their supper. 

“I have to go help get your baby brothers and sisters ready for their dinner.” Sasuke says. “Now go away.” 

The children all pout as Sasuke descends the stairs. Sasuke, heads to the entryway and opens the door. It has stopped raining. Sasuke, puts in his sandals and starts walking across the street.


	6. Dinnertime Drama

Sasuke, sighs as he places Mitsuro, on a changing mat. Sasuke, just got done changing Souta. Now, it is Mitsuro’s turn. Sasuke, slowly undresses the baby. Sasuke, slowly prepares himself for the inevitable. Sasuke, opens up the diaper, and barely dodges the stream of urine aimed at his face. Sasuke, gives the giggling Mitsuro, a serious look.  ****  
****

“When you grow up and have kids, I am never ever changing their diapers!” Sasuke says.  ****  
****

Sasuke, quickly changes Mitsuro, then goes over to a high shelf and takes out a natural cleaner in order to clean Mitsuro’s pee off of the floor. After that, Sasuke, picks up Notarou, in order to change him. Notarou, wails and grabs a handful of Sasuke’s hair.  ****  
****

“Ouch!” Sasuke exclaims as he pries Notarou’s hand out of his hair. Sasuke, then sets the wailing baby on the changing mat and removes the baby’s clothing and diaper. Sasuke, gags at the smell.  ****  
****

_So disgusting…,_ Sasuke thinks to himself as he changes Notarou.  ****  
****

After Sasuke, is finished changing Notarou, he moves onto Osamu. Osamu, wails as Sasuke places the baby on the changing mat. Sasuke, realizes what the problem is. Osamu, is hungry. Very hungry.  ****  
****

Nearby, Ikeri, has just finished changing Isamu. Ikeri, then goes over to the kitchen sink, and washes her hands. Ikeri, then checks the warming bottles of milk.  ****  
****

Sasuke, finishes changing Osamu, and places the baby on a blanket. Sasuke, then takes a wipe and wipes down the changing mat. Sasuke, rolls up the changing mat and puts it away. Sasuke, then goes over to the sink to wash his hands.  ****  
****

Close by, Yukiko, finishes changing Yamiko. Yukiko, places her baby back in her sling. Yukiko, then goes to the sink to wash her hands.  ****  
****

After a few minutes, the bottles are ready. Ikeri, places the warm bottles onto a tray. Ikeri, carefully carries the tray into the playroom. Sasuke, grabs two bottles and pops them into Mitsurou and Souta’s mouths. The two babies stop crying and make cute suckling noises as they hold their bottles and drink the warm milk.  ****  
****

Sasuke, then grabs two more bottles. Sasuke, pops a bottle into Notarou’s mouth and holds the bottle as Notarou, drinks eagerly. Sasuke, takes the other bottle and pops it into Osamu’s mouth. Sasuke, holds the bottle as Osamu, lays on the blanket and drinks the warm milk.  ****  
****

Nearby, Ikeri, sits on the floor and holds Isamu with one arm. Ikeri, supports Isamu’s back as he nurses. With her other hand, Ikeri, holds a bottle so that Orenji can drink the warm milk while sitting.  ****  
****

Yukiko, pops a bottle into Rukia’s mouth. Yukiko, then pops a bottle into Amani’s mouth. The two babies sit on the floor and hold their bottles as they drink the warm milk. Yukiko, adjusts her sling so that Yamiko, can reach her breast. Yukiko, opens up her blouse, allowing Yamiko to nurse. With her free hand, Yukiko, holds a bottle in Imari’s mouth, as the baby lays on a blanket.  ****  
****

Sasuke, sighs and takes in the momentary silence. Soon, it will be time to feed the older babies their evening solids.  ****  
****

A few minutes later, Souta, Amani, Mitsuro, and Rukia finish their bottles. The four babies drop the bottles to the floor and begin crawling around. Then, Orenji, Notarou, Osamu, and Imari finish off their bottles as well. Yamiko and Isamu, finish nursing.  ****  
****

Yamiko, being three months old, is just starting to burp by herself. However, Yamiko, seems to be having trouble burping today. Yukiko, tenderly holds her baby against her shoulder and gently pats the baby’s back. Yamiko, ends up spitting up on Yukiko’s blouse. Yukiko, gasps and takes Yamiko, off of her shoulder. Yamiko, then ends up getting sick all over herself.  ****  
****

“Sorry…,” Yukiko says. “But I have to go change Yamiko and myself.”  ****  
****

Yukiko, gets up and walks out of the room. Sasuke, sighs. Ikeri, has to get the older babies bowls of solids ready. It is now up to Sasuke, to get the T-shirt bibs on the older babies, all by himself. Just great.  ****  
****

...Ten minutes later... ****  
****

Sasuke, holds Isamu in his lap. Isamu, wriggles as he tries to get away from Sasuke and the T-shirt bib.  ****  
****

“Hold still!” Sasuke says. After a few more minutes, Sasuke finally gets the T-shirt on Isamu. Sasuke, then sets Isamu, in a highchair. Rukia, Orenji, and Notarou are already strapped into highchairs.  ****  
****

At the table, Souta, Amani, and Mitsuro sit in their special baby chairs. Ikeri, places baby dishes full of food in front of the three babies. The three dishes contain identical food. One section of each baby dish contains boiled, finely shredded chicken. Another section contains very finely chopped cooked carrots. Another section, contains boiled rice.  ****  
****

Yukiko, appears from the hallway. Yukiko, now wears a white blouse. Yamiko, is in her arms. Yukiko, then walks into the playroom and sets Yamiko, in a basket.  ****  
****

Ikeri, hands baby dishes full of carrot-red lentil puree to Sasuke and Yukiko. Ikeri, heads over to Isamu’s highchair. Yukiko, heads over to Rukia’s highchair. Sasuke, sighs and heads over to Orenji and Notarou’s highchairs. With his right hand, Sasuke, holds a baby spoon full of puree in front of Notarou’s mouth. Notarou, blinks a few times and then opens his mouth. Sasuke, puts the spoon into Notarou’s mouth. Sasuke, withdraws the spoon from Notarou’s mouth. Notarou, slowly chews and then swallows. Sasuke, turns his attention to Orenji. Orenji, just blinks at her Uncle.  ****  
****

“Open wide.” Sasuke says as he holds the spoon in front of Orenji’s mouth.  ****  
****

Orenji, blinks a few more times, before she finally opens her mouth. Sasuke, sticks the spoon into Orenjii’s mouth and then withdraws. Orenji, slowly chews the puree in her mouth.  ****  
****

After a few minutes, both bowls of the puree have been emptied. Sasuke, unstraps Orenji and then places her on the floor. Sasuke, then unstraps Notarou. Sasuke, starts to lift Notarou up. Notarou, makes a face and Sasuke, knows exactly what it means. Notarou, is getting ready to throw up. Sasuke, acts quickly. Sasuke, turns Notarou, around so that the vomit can’t hit him.  ****  
****

Just as Sasuke predicted, Notarou, throws up all over himself. There is so much vomit, it ends up pouring down on the floor.  ****  
****

Sasuke, sighs. That was very close. However, Sasuke, hears a whimper at his feet. Sasuke, looks down and his eyes widen instantly.  ****  
****

Unfortunately, Orenji, was directly below Notarou when he got sick. Orenji, now sits on the floor, covered with Notarou’s vomit. Sasuke, sighs. Terrific.  ****  
****

* * *

Sasuke, makes his way to the one year old’s house. Yukiko, is currently bathing Orenji. Well, at least Orenji, won’t have to be bathed along with the other babies later.  ****  
****

As Sasuke enters the one year old’s house, the sound of screeching children can be heard from inside. Sasuke, grimaces. He just hates shrieking toddlers so much.  ****  
****

Sasuke, enters the kitchen. Komone and Motoko, are busy preparing food. Sasuke, narrows his eyes and looks around. It looks like the women are running a little late with dinner preparation. And...where is Saki? ****  
****

Komone, looks and sees Sasuke, standing there. Komone, just sighs. She looks so tired.  ****  
****

“Can you slice up some bread for us please?” Komone asks. “The soup is simmering now. It won’t be long.”  ****  
****

“Where is Saki?” Sasuke asks.  ****  
****

Komone, sighs again. “The kids got ahold of some crayons and drew all over the walls in the playroom. Saki, is cleaning the walls right now.”  ****  
****

“Oh.” Sasuke, simply says. Sasuke, walks up to the counter and begins slicing some loaves of freshly baked bread into cubes.  ****  
****

While Sasuke, Motoko, and Komone prepare the food, the children rampage around the kitchen.  ****  
****

“MAMA!” Mitsuko shrieks. She throws herself to the floor. “Hungry! Food now!”  ****  
****

“HUNGRY!” Natsuko shrieks. She stomps around the kitchen. “Food now! Want food now!”  ****  
****

“MAMA!” Kenji cries. “Foo! Foo now mama!”  ****  
****

“FOO!” Chiaki cries. She wails on the floor. “Foo! Foo!”  ****  
****

“MAMA!” Satoshi cries. “I want food!”  ****  
****

Nearby, Choumi and Senna, are pinching quite the fit.  ****  
****

“WAAAH…,” Choumi, wails. “Foo! Foo now!”  ****  
****

“WAAAAAAAAAH…,” Senna, wails as she stomps around the kitchen. “Foo! Foo!” ****  
****

Ryuu, beats his little fists on the floor. “HUNGRY!” Ryuu, cries out.  ****  
****

“I WANT FOOD!” Benjiro wails. Benjiro, throws himself to the floor. “Food now!”   ****  
****

“FOOD!” Terashi screams as he sits on the floor. “I want food!”  ****  
****

“HUNGRY!” Zakuro cries out. Zakuro, pounds his fists on the floor. “Feed me!”  ****  
****

Kohana, circles the room and pouts. “Hungry.” Kohana pouts. “I want food.”  ****  
****

Yukiko, steps into the room. Her eyes widen.  ****  
****

“Is Saki still cleaning the playroom?” Yukiko asks.  ****  
****

“Unfortunately yes.” Motoko says.  ****  
****

Motoko, walks up and looks into the pot. She narrows her eyes. “What exactly is this supposed to be?” Motoko asks.  ****  
****

“We had a little leftover curry from lunch.” Komone says. “We added more lentils and vegetables, plus a little bit of shredded chicken that was left.”  ****  
****

“We added water…,” Motoko says. “Plus some chicken and light veggie broth. Then we added some more curry spice.”  ****  
****

Yukiko, stirs the liquid concoction. “So you used the leftover curry to create a soup then?” Yukiko asks. “Well, I’ll say that is very clever cooking. However, we have never tried something like this. Hopefully the children like it.”  ****  
****

“The other houses also had a little leftover curry.” Komone says. “We shared our idea with the other mothers. I don’t know if they will use our idea or not. However, I sure hope that if they do the other kids like it as well.”  ****  
****

Saki, enters the kitchen. She carries a bucket full of soapy water. Saki, sighs as she empties the dirty water into the sink.  ****  
****

“I am so glad that is over.” Saki says.  ****  
****

Sasuke, raises a brow. How bad was the mess in the playroom?  ****  
****

Motoko, checks the soup. “I think the soup is ready.” Motoko says. “Let’s get started.”  ****  
****

Sasuke, quickly starts delivering toddlers to the table. Komone and Motoko, fill bowls with soup. Saki, delivers the filled bowls to the table. Yukiko, fills small plates with cubes of bread. Once Sasuke, is done delivering toddlers to the table, he goes and fetches the plates of bread. Within ten minutes, each toddler, has a bowl of soup and a plate of bread.  ****  
****

The children all stop crying and look at the bowls and plates in front of them. The children, slowly begin tasting the soup. The children smile widely and start gobbling the soup down.  ****  
****

Sasuke and the mothers all sigh with relief. The children apparently love the new soup.  ****  
****

Ten minutes later, all of the children have finished off their soup and bread. The children smile and hold their bowls up.   ****  
****

“MORE!” Kohana says. “More!”  ****  
****

“MORE!” Terashi, Zakuro, Ryuu, and Benjiro all say. “MORE!”  ****  
****

“More mama!” Satoshi says. “More mama!”  ****  
****

“More!” Mitsuko, Natsuko, and Senna all say. “More!”  ****  
****

“Mo!” Choumi, Kenji, and Chiaki say. ‘Mo’ is Choumi, Kenji, and Chiaki’s word for more.  ****  
****

Sasuke’s eyes widen immediately. These kids have never asked for seconds of anything. Sasuke, looks at Yukiko, Motoko, Komone, and Saki. The four women seem just as surprised as Sasuke.  ****  
****

“More...more…,” The children chant impatiently. “More!”  ****  
****

“Mo...mo...mo…,” Choumi, Kenji, and Chiaki chant together.  ****  
****

Motoko, goes over to the soup pot. When she looks into the pot, she turns and looks at Sasuke, and the others mothers. Motoko, just gives them all a look. Sasuke, and the others realize what that look means. There is no more soup. Just great.  ****  
****

The children are starting to get impatient. They all start to wail at the table.  ****  
****

“More!” Kohana cries. “Want more!”  ****  
****

“More mama!” Satoshi cries. “Want more mama!”  ****  
****

“Mo!” Chiaki cries. “Mo! Mo!”  ****  
****

Sasuke, Motoko, Komone, Saki, and Yukiko all look at one another. Saki, gets an idea.  ****  
****

“We shall cut up more bread along with some fruit.” Saki says. “That should fill them up.”  ****  
****

The other mothers nod. Sasuke, looks up at the clock. He is already late helping Aika and Akira. Sasuke, has to go.  ****  
****

“Sorry, but I have to go.” Sasuke says, starting for the exit. “I have to go help Akira and Aika.”  ****  
****

Sasuke, walks out of the house. Sasuke, walks across the street towards the two year olds house.  ****  
****

_What a day._ Sasuke thinks to himself.  ****  
****

Sasuke, walks into the two year olds house. He takes off his sandals. Sasuke, can hear the children wailing and fussing from inside the kitchen. He grimaces.  ****  
****

Sasuke, enters the kitchen. The children appear to have just been seated at the table. The children all fuss and wail as they wait for their food.  ****  
****

Aika and Akira, look and see Sasuke. Aika and Akira, are filling up bowls with soup. The soup looks identical to the soup that Komone and Motoko made. Aika and Akira must have used their idea.  ****  
****

“Where have you been?” Aika asks. “We had to get the children to the table ourselves!”  ****  
****

Sasuke, groans. “Apparently the one year old's got a hold of crayons and colored all over the walls in the playroom.” Sasuke says. “Saki, had to clean the walls while Motoko and Komone made dinner. It really set them back.”  ****  
****

“FOOD!” The children scream as they sit at the table. “FOOD NOW!”  ****  
****

Sasuke, gets to work, taking filled bowls to the table. Aika, follows with plates of bread. Akira, fills more bowls and plates for Sasuke and Aika.  ****  
****

“I’M HUNGRY!” Daichi screams. “Food! Food!”  ****  
****

Sasuke, places a bowl in front of Daichi. “Here!” Sasuke says. “Here is your soup!”  ****  
****

Daichi, stops screaming and looks at his bowl. Aika, places a plate of sliced bread beside the bowl. Daichi, lifts his spoon and scoops up some of the soup. Daichi, sips the soup. Daichi, smiles.  ****  
****

“YUMMY!” Daichi exclaims before he starts gobbling down the soup.  ****  
****

Sasuke, looks at other children who have bowls of soup in front of them. Those children are gobbling up the soup with equal enthusiasm.  ****  
****

Sasuke, quickly places a bowl in front of Aiko and Akashi.  ****  
****

“I want food.” Akashi whines.  ****  
****

“I want food.” Aiko whines.  ****  
****

“Quit whining already!” Sasuke says. “Here is your food.”  ****  
****

Aika, quickly places plates of bread next to her children’s bowls of soup.  ****  
****

Akashi and Aiko, stop whining and taste their soup. Within minutes, the two children are gobbling down the soup.  ****  
****

Sasuke, looks around. Every single child has a bowl of soup and a plate of bread. All of the children are gobbling down the soup with enthusiasm. The children are enjoying the new concoction just as much as the one year olds did.  ****  
****

After helping Aika and Akira, pass out water glasses, Sasuke, goes to take a peek at the pot. The pot...is empty. There shall be no second helpings of soup. If these children ask for seconds, Sasuke, Aika, and Akira will be screwed.  ****  
****

...five minutes later… ****  
****

The children all get done with their soup and bread. The children all hold up their empty bowls.  ****  
****

“More!” The children all say. “More! More!”  ****  
****

Sasuke’s eyes widen. He rubs his temples.  ****  
****

“Sorry kids.” Aika says. “You ate all of the soup. It is all gone.”  ****  
****

All of the children frown. They set down their bowls.  ****  
****

“STILL HUNGRY!” The children all scream together. “WANT MORE FOOD!”  ****  
****

Sasuke, grits his teeth. He just hates his life so much.  ****  
****

* * *

Sasuke, sighs as he walks into the oldest children’s house. He can hear the children whining from the entryway.  ****  
****

Sasuke, enters the kitchen. The children are all seated at the table. Keiko, Hitomi, and Tamiko, all prepare bowls of soup and plates of bread. They look at Sasuke.  ****  
****

“What took you so long?!” Keiko says.  ****  
****

Sasuke, sighs. “We ran out of soup at the two year olds house.” Sasuke says. “The children wanted seconds so Aika, Akira and I, had to cut up bread and fruit for them.  ****  
****

“Oh.” Keiko says. She simply goes back to what she was doing before Sasuke showed up.  ****  
****

Sasuke, begins placing prepared bowls of soup in front of children.  ****  
****

“Hungry Uncle Sasuke.” Kazuto whines. “I am so hungry.”  ****  
****

“Well here is your food!” Sasuke says. “Stop whining.”  ****  
****

Keiko, places a plate of bread beside Kazuto’s bowl of soup. Kazuto, stops whining and looks at his food. Kazuto, sips his soup. His eyes widen instantly. Kazuto, begins gobbling down the soup.  ****  
****

“Yummy!” Kazuto exclaims. “This soup is super yummy!”  ****  
****

“You’re right Kazuto.” Hikari says as she gobbles down her own bowl of soup. “This soup is really yummy!”  ****  
****

After all of the children have been given food, Sasuke and the three mothers go to look at the pot of soup. Of course, the pot is empty.  ****  
****

Tamiko, sighs. “Well, I guess we will have to give the children more bread and some fruit if they are still hungry.”  ****  
****

Just then, Kazuto, yells out. Sasuke, and the mothers turn. Kazuto, holds up his empty bowl. Wow...that was very quick.  ****  
****

“More!” Kazuto says. “I want more!”  ****  
****

Keiko, sighs. “Sorry Kazuto…,” Keiko says. “But there is no soup left. You guys ate it all gone.”  ****  
****

Kazuto’s eyes start to water a little. “No more soup?” Kazuto asks with a sad voice.  ****  
****

Keiko, shakes her head. Kazuto, whimpers.  ****  
****

“But I am still hungry mommy!” Kazuto says.  ****  
****

“Still hungry!” Hikari yells out. “Still hungry!”  ****  
****

“Want more food!” Akirou cries. “More food!”  ****  
****

“MORE FOOD!” All of the children cry together. “MORE FOOD!”  ****  
****

Sasuke, Keiko, Tamiko, and Hitomi, all work quickly. Sasuke and the three women chop bread and fruit as fast as they can. All the while, the children scream and cry. The new soup was certainly a hit with all of the children. However, next time the mothers make the soup, they will have to remember to make bigger batches. 


	7. Bath time troubles

Sasuke, sighs as he opens up the linen closet in the infant house. Now that dinner is done with, it is time for the little monsters to be given their nightly baths. And just like with naptime, some children are more difficult than others. The babies can be very simple to bathe. It is the older children, which cause trouble.  ****  
****

Sasuke, walks into the kitchen. Yukiko, Motoko, and Keiko are waiting for him. Ikeri, is supervising the babies in the playroom. Sasuke, sets the towels on the table. A bottle of lotion, four sets of baby pajamas, baby nail clippers and filers are all set out on the table. Yukiko, sets a plastic seat in the sink. Yamiko, Imari, Osamu, and Isamu are given their baths first in the kitchen sink.  ****  
****

Sasuke, fetches Yamiko, from her basket in the playroom. Yamiko, fusses as Sasuke, undresses her and begins taking off her diaper. Sasuke, puts the soiled diaper into a pail. Sasuke, then cleans Yamiko’s little bottom. Cleaning the babies bottoms before their baths helps to ensure that the baby seat in the sink, stays clean.  ****  
****

Once Yamiko’s dirty diaper has been removed and her little bottom thoroughly cleaned, Sasuke, hands her off to Motoko. Motoko, begins to gently trim Yamiko’s nails. As Motoko trims Yamiko’s nails, Sasuke, rubs down the changing mat with a natural disinfectant. Sasuke, then fetches Imari, from the playroom. Sasuke, begins undressing the squirming Imari.  ****  
****

Motoko, gives baby Yamiko’s hair a quick combing, before she is handed off to Yukiko. Yukiko, places Yamiko in the plastic baby seat. Motoko, sets a nearby timer to ten minutes. Sasuke, and the mothers keep sink baths for each baby no more than 10 minutes each.  ****  
****

Yukiko, hums lightly, trying to soothe Yamiko, as she bathes her. Yamiko, fusses and cries at the feeling of the water, and baby wash being applied to her skin. ****  
****

Sasuke, finally gets Imari, undressed. Sasuke, then removes Imari’s soiled diaper. Sasuke, gags at the smell. Sasuke, swiftly pitches the soiled diaper into the pail. As Sasuke cleans her bottom, Imari cries and squirms.  ****  
****

“Hold still.” Sasuke says as he cleans Imari’s bottom.  ****  
****

After Imari’s bottom is cleaned, She is handed off to Motoko. Motoko, gets to work trimming and filing little Imari’s nails.  ****  
****

Sasuke, sighs as he cleans the changing mat. Despite the large amount of work that it takes to get each baby ready, the youngest babies aren’t that much of a challenge to bathe.  ****  
****

However, the older babies are a little more troublesome to bathe.  ****  
****

* * *

Sasuke, carries towels up the stairs. Once at the top, he heads straight for the bathroom. Inside the bathroom, Yukiko, Motoko, and Keiko are waiting for him. Ikeri, is downstairs, supervising the babies.  ****  
****

Once, everything is in order, Sasuke, heads back downstairs to fetch Notarou. Sasuke, enters the playroom. Notarou, is playing with some foam blocks. Sasuke, picks up Notarou. Notarou, fusses and cries at having his playtime interrupted. Sasuke, then carries Notarou, up the stairs. Once inside the bathroom, Notarou, fusses and cries even more. He must realize that it is bathtime.  ****  
****

Sasuke, grimaces as he sets Notarou, on the changing mat. Notarou, squirms and cries on the changing mat. Sasuke, grits his teeth as he struggles to get Notarou, undressed. Notarou, kicks wildly as Sasuke removes his diaper. Notarou, kicks even more once Sasuke, starts cleaning his bottom. Notarou, shrieks and tries to wriggle away.  ****  
****

“Stop it!” Sasuke says with frustration. “I don’t like bath time either, but it is necessary.”  ****  
****

Sasuke, finally gets Notarou’s bottom cleaned. Sasuke, hands Notarou, off to Motoko, who has a set of nail clippers, nail filers, and some combs ready. Motoko, begins to carefully clip and file the squirming Notarou’s nails.  ****  
****

Keiko, heads downstairs to get Amani and Rukia. Sasuke, sighs and begins cleaning the changing mat. The tub, is big enough to hold two babies. Orenji and Noarou, are usually bathed together. Then, Rukia and Amani are bathed together. Then, Souta and Mitsuro, are bathed together.  ****  
****

Sasuke, looks over at the tub. Yukiko, has finished bathing Notarou.  ****  
****

About that time, Keiko, returns with Rukia and Amani. Keiko, hands Sasuke, Rukia. Keiko, then hands Amani to Motoko. Yukiko, holds Notarou, whom is wrapped in a towel. Keiko, then takes Notarou, from Yukiko. Keiko, will now rub Notarou, down with lotion.  ****  
****

Motoko, starts undressing Amani. Motoko, can clip and file Amani’s nails with Amani’s diaper still on. Sasuke, begins undressing Rukia. Rukia, shrieks and tries to crawl away. Sasuke, firmly holds Rukia.  ****  
****

“Hold still will you?!” Sasuke says through gritted teeth. “It will be over in a few minutes.”  ****  
****

Sasuke, quickly takes Rukia’s diaper off and cleans her bottom. Rukia, wails the entire time. Sasuke, then hands the naked Rukia to Motoko, so that he can get Amani ready. Keiko, takes Notarou, downstairs. Keiko, will get Souta and Mitsuro, while she is downstairs.   ****  
****

Sasuke, sets Amani, on the changing mat, and starts undressing her. Amani, squirms and wails.  ****  
****

“Stop!” Sasuke says through gritted teeth.  ****  
****

Sasuke, quickly finishes his task. Sasuke, hands Amani to Yukiko. Motoko, hands Rukia, to Yukiko. Yukiko, sets both babies into the tub. Keiko, returns with Souta and Mitsuro in each arm.  ****  
****

Sasuke, sighs and takes Mitsuro from Keiko. Keiko, hands Souta to Motoko. Sasuke, takes off Mitsuro’s clothes. Slowly, Sasuke, prepares himself as he takes off Mitsuro’s diaper. Sasuke, dodges the warm stream of urine aimed at his face. Sasuke, grimaces and returns to his normal position.  ****  
****

However, it is a little too soon. A second stream of urine, unexpectedly flies up and gets Sasuke, on the front of his shirt. Sasuke, just sits there and blinks, very surprised. Mitsuro, has never done that before.  ****  
****

Yukiko, looks over and gasps. Keiko, covers her mouth. Motoko, just sighs. ****  
****

“That was very unexpected.” Motoko says.  ****  
****

* * *

Sasuke, sighs as he sets the sleepy Souta into the crib. After Sasuke went home and changed his urine stained shirt, he came back to help with baby bedtime. Keiko, stands at another crib nearby. She is putting Mitsuro, into his crib. Keiko, always comes and helps with baby bath time and bedtime. Right now, Tamiko and Hitomi, are dealing with the oldest children.  ****  
****

Sasuke and Keiko, slowly tiptoe away from the cribs and exit the room. Once outside they quietly sigh together. Ikeri, Yukiko, and Motoko come out of the baby girls bedroom. The three women sigh.  ****  
****

“Good.” Motoko says in a hushed voice. “The babies are all in bed.”  ****  
****

“Tonight is Ikeri’s night to help with the older children’s bath time.” Yukiko says.  ****  
****

Ikeri, sighs. “I know.”  ****  
****

Sasuke, leans back against the wall. Now it is time to begin one of the hardest parts of the night. Giving the older children their baths. Oh joy.  ****  
****

* * *

Sasuke, grabs four towels from the linen closet. It is time to begin the one year olds bath time. Sasuke, passes by the chaos filled playroom. The children laugh and giggle as run around and play.  ****  
****

Chiaki, Choumi, Senna, Mitsuko, Natsuko, Benjiro, Zakuro, and Kohana have already had their baths. The eight of them were given their baths while Sasuke, was dealing with the babies. These children are easier to bathe than the rest of the one year olds, although they do have requirements.  ****  
****

Chiaki, likes her bath a little on the cooler side. She will also only let Komone, bathe her. Choumi, will only take her bath if you give her a pink rubber ducky. If the pink rubber ducky is forgotten, then Choumi will throw a tantrum. Senna, will cry and resist until you put a pink rubber ducky _and_ a pink rubber dolphin into the bathtub. Senna, will only let you dry her with a pink fluffy towel. Mitsuko and Natsuko, will only let Motoko, bathe them. Since Mitsuko and Natsuko, are still little, Motoko bathes them together. Mitsuko and Natsuko, must also have certain bath toys or they will resist. Mitsuko, must have a pink rubber saurolophus. Natsuko, must have a lilac rubber saurolophus. Forget these bath toys and both girls will throw tantrums. Benjiro, must have his bath a little on the warm side. Benjiro, must also have a blue rubber whale. Zakuro, loves to play with water, so that is a no brainer. However, Zakuro, will only get into the bathtub if he is given a blue rubber stegosaurus. Kohana, likes her bath with pink bubbles and she will only let Saki, bathe her.  ****  
****

Sasuke, heads upstairs with the four towels. It is time for Kenji, Ryuu, Satoshi, and Terashi, to be given their baths. The four boys are an absolute nightmare when it comes to their baths. It takes Sasuke, Komone, Motoko and Saki, to get all four boys bathed. While Sasuke and the three women are doing that, Ikeri and Yukiko, will take turns supervising the other children.  ****  
****

Sasuke, enters the bathroom. Komone, Motoko and Saki, are busy getting everything ready. Four sets of pajamas are hung on a hook. Two diapers and two cloth training pants sit on a vanity. Satoshi and Terashi, are in the process of being potty trained. A bottle of lotion, sits on a bench. Sasuke, places the towels next to the bench.  ****  
****

“Alright…,” Komone says. “Everything is in order. I will go and get Kenji.”  ****  
****

Komone, heads out the door. Sasuke, sighs. Time for the bath time nightmare to begin.  ****  
****

A few minutes later, Komone, returns with Kenji in her arms. Kenji, shrieks when he sees the bathtub. The toddler almost jumps out of his mother’s arms.  ****  
****

“NO!” Kenji cries with all his might. “NO! NO!”  ****  
****

Komone, sighs as Sasuke comes over to help her get Kenji undressed. Komone, gently restrains her son while Sasuke, removes Kenji’s clothing. Kenji, thrashes and wails, which makes Sasuke’s task difficult. Sasuke, growls as he removes Kenji’s diaper. Kenji, kicks wildly. Kenji, ends up kicking Sasuke, in the chest. Sasuke, staggers back a little.  ****  
****

“Kenji!” Komone says with a frown. “Kicking people is not nice.”  ****  
****

Sasuke, regains his composure. Well, at least Kenji’s diaper is off. Now, it is time to put him in the tub.  ****  
****

Komone, walks over and sets Kenji in the bathtub. Kenji, wails as Komone, holds him firmly. Motoko, grabs some soft soap and smears it onto a washcloth. Motoko, then begins rubbing Kenji down with the soap. Kenji, wails and thrashes as Motoko, rubs him down with the soap.  ****  
****

“NO!” Kenji wails as Komone holds him. “NO!”  ****  
****

Motoko, scrubs Kenji’s legs. Kenji, kicks wildly. Finally. Motoko, puts the washcloth down and grabs a bottle of baby shampoo. Motoko, squirts some of the shampoo into her hand and begins scrubbing Kenji’s hair. Kenji, screams and thrashes.  ****  
****

After a few minutes, Motoko, is done scrubbing Kenji’s hair. Time to rinse him off. Motoko, grabs the shower head and turns it on. Water sprays out of the showerhead. Motoko, starts rinsing Kenji’s body with the water. Kenji, growls and thrashes at the feeling of the water on his body. Motoko, then moves onto Kenji’s head. Kenji, thrashes in Komone’s grasp. ****  
****

“NO!” Kenji cries as the water cascades down his face. “NO!”  ****  
****

Once all of the soap and shampoo is rinsed off of Kenji’s body, it is time to apply the conditioner. Motoko, grabs the conditioner and rubs it into Kenji’s hair. Kenji, cries and thrashes.  ****  
****

Sasuke, growls and covers his ears. Every night is like this. The older children are even worse.  ****  
****

Finally, Motoko, is done with the conditioner. She quickly rinses Kenji’s hair. Komone, quickly lifts Kenji out of the tub. Saki, grabs a towel and begins drying the thrashing Kenji. Once Kenji is dry, it is time to apply the lotion to his skin. Saki, squirts the lotion into her hands and begins rubbing Kenji’s skin down with the lotion. Komone, holds her son firmly, to keep him from running away.  ****  
****

“No!” Kenji cries as tears stream down his face. “No!”  ****  
****

Finally, Saki, is done rubbing Kenji’s skin down with the lotion. She sighs and steps back. Komone, holds Kenji up so that sasuke, can put the diaper on. Sasuke, grabs a diaper and begins putting on the kicking Kenji. Once that is done, it is time for Kenji’s pajamas. Sasuke, grabs Kenji’s pajamas and swiftly slips them onto Kenji’s body. Kenji, cries as Sasuke, takes him from Komone. Komone, sighs.  ****  
****

“Ok.” Komone says. “Time for Ryuu’s bath.”  ****  
****

Sasuke, carries Kenji out of the room and down the stairs. Sasuke, reaches the playroom and sets Kenji down near some foam blocks. Sasuke, then goes over to where Ryuu is. Sasuke, picks up Ryuu and walks out of the playroom. Ryuu, fusses and tries to get away.  ****  
****

“Stop it!” Sasuke says firmly.  ****  
****

Sasuke, enters the bathroom. Ryuu, shrieks and tries to get away.  ****  
****

“NO BATH!” Ryuu cries as he starts thrashing in Sasuke’s arms. “NO BATH!”  ****  
****

Sasuke, grimaces as he holds Ryuu firmly. Saki, quickly removes the thrashing Ryuu’s clothing. Ryuu, growls and kicks as Saki, removes his diaper. Sasuke, walks over to the bathtub and sets Ryuu in it. Sasuke, holds Ryuu as Motoko, starts scrubbing Ryuu down with soap. Ryuu, kicks and cries.  ****  
****

“Stop it!” Sasuke says. “It will be over soon!”  ****  
****

“NO!” Ryuu cries as Motoko, rubs scrubs his hair with shampoo. “No bath!”  ****  
****

Motoko, sighs and rinses Ryuu off. Time for the conditioner. Sasuke, holds onto Ryuu as the little boy tries to get away. Motoko, rubs the conditioner into Ryuu’s hair. Ryuu, thrashes his head and screams.  ****  
****

“NO!” Ryuu screams. “NO!”  ****  
****

Motoko, waits a few minutes and then rinses Ryuu’s hair. Sasuke, then takes Ryuu over to Komone, who swiftly dries Ryuu off. Komone, then applies the lotion. Ryuu, thrashes in Sasuke’s hands. After that is done, Sasuke, hands Ryuu to Saki. Saki, walks out of the room with Ryuu. Time for Satoshi’s bath.  ****  
****

Five minutes later, Saki, returns with Satoshi in her arms. Satoshi, shrieks and tries to get away.  ****  
****

“No bath Mama!” Satoshi cries. “No bath!”  ****  
****

“I’m sorry but baths are necessary.” Saki says as Sasuke, removes Satoshi’s clothing.  ****  
****

Satoshi, screams and thrashes as Sasuke, removes his training pants. “NO!” Satoshi screams. “NO BATH! NO BATH!”  ****  
****

Saki, carries the now naked Satoshi, over to the bathtub. Satoshi, shrieks and tries to jump out of the tub. Saki, holds her son firmly. Saki, frowns as Satoshi, cries and screams.  ****  
****

“Stop it Satoshi!” Saki says firmly. “Baths are not that bad.”  ****  
****

“NO!” Satoshi screams as Motoko, applies the soap. “NO!”  ****  
****

Motoko, then applies the shampoo and starts scrubbing Satoshi’s hair. Satoshi, screams and waves his fists in the air angrily. Saki, frowns even more at her son’s behavior.  ****  
****

“I said stop!” Saki says. ****  
****

Satoshi, stops thrashing. He wails loudly as Motoko, continues to bathe him. Sasuke, grimaces and covers his ears.  ****  
****

“I need to step outside for a few minutes.” Sasuke says.  ****  
****

Sasuke, steps outside the bathroom and takes a deep breath. Once Satoshi is bathed, it will be time for Terashi’s bath. After that, Sasuke, will go over to the two year olds house and repeat the process.  ****  
****

* * *

Sasuke, sighs as he grabs four towels. Sasuke, passes by the playroom as he makes his way towards the stairs. The two year olds all laugh and run around the room as they play. Umeko, Daichi, Himeko, Mio, Tomone, Tadase, Yuri, and Aiko have already had their baths. And just like the one year olds, the eight children have their own unique requirements when it comes to bath time.  ****  
****

Umeko, Himeko, Mio, Tadase, Yuri, and Aiko, like their baths on the warmer side. Daichi and Tomone, like their baths on the cooler side. Umeko, Mio, Tadase, and Aiko will only let Aika bathe them. Daichi, Himeko, Tomone, and Yuri will only let Akira bathe them.All of the children also have other requirements.  ****  
****

Umeko, will only take a bath if she is given a purple mermaid bath toy to play with. Daichi, will only take a bath if he is given a green boat. Himeko, must have a story read to her and she will only play with a pegasus bath toy. Mio, will only take a bath unless there is soft music playing. Mio, also only likes butterfly bath toys. Mio, only likes to be dried with butterfly print towels. Tomone, must have a purple dolphin. Tadase, must have a blue and white sailboat, and a blue mama whale with little baby whales, nestled on her back. Yuri, must have a pink mermaid and a pink towel with white flower print. Aiko, must have soft music playing, and a purple whale bath toy.  ****  
****

Sasuke, reaches the top of the stairs and enters the bathroom. Aika, Akira, and Saki are waiting for him. It is time for Hajime, Chihaku, Yashiro, and Akashi to be given their baths. The four boys are a nightmare when it comes to bath time.  ****  
****

Aika, looks around. “Alright, everything is in order.” Aika says. “Now, first up is Hajime.”  ****  
****

Sasuke, sighs and sets the towels down next to a bench. Sasuke, then walks out of the bathroom and heads back downstairs. Sasuke, enters the playroom and picks up Hajime. Hajime, frowns as Sasuke, carries him up the stairs. Once Sasuke enters the bathroom, Hajime freaks and tries to get away.  ****  
****

“BATH TIME?! NO!” Hajime cries with all his might. “I DON’T WANNA BATH!”  ****  
****

Sasuke, growls as Saki, starts to get Hajime undressed. “Well too bad.” Sasuke says. “Baths are necessary.”  ****  
****

“NO!” Hajime, cries as Saki takes off his underwear. “NO BATH!”  ****  
****

Sasuke, carries the now naked Hajime, over to the bathtub. Hajime, thrashes and cries. Aika, wets Hajime’s body and hair with some water. Aika, then begins scrubbing Hajime with some soap. Sasuke, struggles to keep Hajime restrained.  ****  
****

“NO BATH!” Hajime screams as Sasuke holds him. “NO BATH!”  ****  
****

Saki, squirts some shampoo into her hand. Saki, then begins scrubbing Hajime’s hair. Hajime, kicks wildly and screams.  ****  
****

“NOOOO!” Hajime yells out. “NOOOOO!”  ****  
****

Sasuke, growls. “Hold still!” Sasuke says as he struggles to hold onto the boy.   ****  
****

Saki, rinses Hajime’s body and hair with some water. Saki, squirts some conditioner into her hand and begins applying the conditioner to Hajime’s hair. Hajime, thrashes and kicks his legs.  ****  
****

“NO!” Hajime, cries as Saki rubs the conditioner into his hair. “NO! NO! NO!”  ****  
****

After a few minutes, it is time to rinse out the conditioner. Saki, sprays water onto Hajime’s head. Then, Sasuke, lifts the thrashing Hajime out of the bathtub. Sasuke, carries Hajime over to Aika, who begins drying Hajime, with a towel. Hajime, screams and thrashes even more.  ****  
****

“No!” Hajime cries. “No!”  ****  
****

Finally, Akira starts applying lotion to Hajime’s skin. Once that is done, Sasuke, grabs some underwear and slips them onto Hajime. Then, Sasuke, slips Hajime’s pajamas on. Hajime, stops crying.  ****  
****

“There!” Sasuke, says with a growl. “It’s over.”   ****  
****

Akira, sighs as she takes Hajime, from Sasuke. “Alright.” Akira says. “Time for Chihaku’s bath.”  ****  
****

Akira, carries Hajime out of the bathroom. Five minutes later, Akira returns with Chihaku in her arms. Chihaku, shrieks and almost jumps out of Akira’s arms.  ****  
****

“NO BATH MAMA!” Chihaku cries. “I DON’T WANNA BATH!!”  ****  
****

Akira, sighs. “Sorry but you are getting a bath whether you want one or not.” Akira says.  ****  
****

“NO!” Chihaku cries as Sasuke begins taking off his clothing. “NO BATH!”  ****  
****

Sasuke, grimaces as he finally gets Chihaku’s underwear removed. Akira, carries her now naked son over to the bathtub. Chihaku, thrashes and screams.  ****  
****

“I DON’T WANNA BATH!” Chihaku screams. “NO BATH FOR ME!”  ****  
****

Saki, begins rubbing Chihaku down with some soap. Chihaku, screams and thrashes in the bathtub.  ****  
****

“Chihaku, please stop.” Akira says with a pleading voice. “It will be over before you know it”  ****  
****

“NO MAMA!“ Chihaku screams. “NO BATH!”  ****  
****

Saki, then begins applying shampoo to Chihaku’s hair. Chihaku, growls and kicks wildly.  ****  
****

“NO!” Chihaku yells. “NO!” ****  
****

Saki, rinses the shampoo and soap off of Chihaku. Saki, then applies some conditioner to Chihaku’s hair. After waiting for a few minutes, Saki, rinses the conditioner out of the boy’s hair. Akira, lifts her thrashing son out of the bathtub. Akira, carries Chihaku, over to Aika, who is waiting with a towel.  ****  
****

“NO TOWEL!” Chihaku screams as Aika begins drying him off. “NO TOWEL!”  ****  
****

Then, Aika, begins applying lotion to Chihaku’s skin. Chihaku, thrashes wildly in Akira’s grip.  ****  
****

“NO LOTION!” Chihaku screams. “NO LOTION!”  ****  
****

Sasuke, growls and then grabs Chihaku’s underwear. Sasuke, slips the underwear onto Chihaku. Sasuke, then slips on Chihaku’s pajamas. Chihaku, stops crying in a few minutes.  ****  
****

“There, it’s over!” Sasuke says. 

Akira, sighs. “Ok, now it’s time for Yashiro’s bath.” Akira says.  ****  
****

Sasuke, sighs and carries Chihaku, out of the bathroom. Sasuke, heads downstairs and into the playroom. Sasuke, sets Chihaku down and picks up Yashiro. Yashiro, frowns as Sasuke, carries him up the stairs. Yashiro’s eyes suddenly widen once he realizes that Sasuke, is headed for the bathroom. Yashiro, manages to jump out of Sasuke’s arms. Yashiro, runs around the hallway. Sasuke, growls as he chases the boy up and down the hallway.  ****  
****

“NO!” Yashiro cries as he runs. “NO BATH UNCLE SASUKE!” Yashiro yells. “NO BATH!”  ****  
****

Akira, pokes her head out the bathroom and gasps.  ****  
****

“Oh my.” Akira says as she watches Sasuke chase Yashiro up and down the hallway.  ****  
****

After a few more minutes, Sasuke, finally catches Yashiro. Sasuke, carries the struggling boy into the bathroom. Sasuke, closes and locks the door behind him.  ****  
****

“NO BATH!” Yashiro screams as Saki begins taking his clothes off. “NO!”  ****  
****

Once Yashiro’s clothes and underwear are off, Sasuke, carries his nephew to the bathtub. Yashiro, kicks and screams as Sasuke sets him in the tub.  ****  
****

“NOOOOO!” Yashiro screams. “NOOOOOO!”  ****  
****

Sasuke, grimaces as he struggles to restrain Yashiro. Why does bath time always have to be such a hassle? Why? ****  
****

* * *

Sasuke, grimaces as he struggles to restrain the thrashing Raiden. The front of Sasuke’s shirt is all wet. After getting Yashiro and Akashi bathed, Sasuke headed over to the oldest children’s house. Now, Sasuke is helping to get Raiden bathed. Saki, scrubs Raiden’s hair with some conditioner.  ****  
****

“NO!” Raiden screams. “NO!”  ****  
****

After a few minutes, Tamiko, rinses out Raiden’s hair. Raiden, thrashes as Sasuke lifts him out of the bathtub. Sasuke, takes Raiden over to Keiko, who is waiting with a towel. Keiko, begins drying Raiden off.  ****  
****

“NO!” Raiden screams as he struggles to get away.  ****  
****

Keiko, then applies some lotion to Raiden’s skin. Raiden, thrashes and kicks wildly.  ****  
****

“NO!” Raiden cries. “NO!”  ****  
****

Sasuke, grimaces as he struggles to restrain the boy. Keiko, then puts Raiden’s underwear and pajamas on.  ****  
****

“There, it’s over!” Sasuke says.  ****  
****

Sasuke, carries Raiden out of the bathroom and down the stairs. Sasuke, enters the playroom. All of the other older children, laugh and play. Hoshiko, looks over and notices Sasuke’s wet shirt.  ****  
****

“Uncle Sasuke…,” Hoshiko says with wide eyes. “Your shirt is all wet.”  ****  
****

“KAZUTO!” Raiden screams. “HARUTO! AKIROU! RUN, IT’S BATH TIME!”  ****  
****

Kazuto, Haruto, and Akirou all stop paying immediately. The other children look at them. Ikeri, who is supervising the children, gasps. Sasuke, growls and looks down at Raiden with a glare.  ****  
****

“NO!” Kazuto, Haruto, and Akirou all scream.The three boys immediately start running towards the playroom entrance. “NO BATH!”  ****  
****

“Keiko!” Ikeri yells. “Tamiko, Hitomi! Kazuto, Haruto, and Akirou are trying to make a run for it!”  ****  
****

Sasuke, sets Raiden and down and chases after said boys. Kazuto, opens the front door and makes a quick exit. Haruto and Akirou, follow right behind their half-brother. Sasuke, exits the house last. Sasuke, grimaces as he chases his three nephews.  ****  
****

“COME BACK HERE!” Sasuke yells.  ****  
****

“NO!” Kazuto, Akirou and Haruto all yell together. “NO BATH!”  ****  
****

After a few minutes, sasuke, manages to catch up to the boys. Sasuke, grabs one of Akirou’s arms. Sasuke, grabs one of Haruto’s arms. However, Kazuto, manages to escape. Keiko, Tamiko, and Hitomi, catch up to Sasuke. Sasuke, hands Haruto and Akirou off to Tamiko and Hitomi.  ****  
****

“Kazuto escaped!” Sasuke says to Keiko. “Come on, let’s catch him!”  ****  
****

Keiko, nods and follows Sasuke. Sasuke and Keiko, run after Kazuto.  ****  
****

“Get back here right now young man!” Keiko yells.  ****  
****

“NO!” Kazuto yells back. “I DON’T WANT TO TAKE A BATH!”  ****  
****

Sasuke and Keiko, end up chasing Kazuto out of the compound.  ****  
****

* * *

Kakashi, passes by Ichiraku’s ramen stand. Naruto, is finishing off a bowl of ramen. Eight empty bowls sit on the counter next to Naruto.  ****  
****

“Yo, Naruto.” Kakashi says.  ****  
****

Naruto, turns to look at Kakashi. Ramen noodles stick out of naruto’s mouth. Naruto, quickly slurps, chews and swallows. Naruto, grins at his sensei.  ****  
****

“Kakashi sensei!” Naruto says.   ****  
****

Kakashi, looks at the empty bowls. “You have already had eight bowls Naruto.” Kakashi says. “Are you sure that you should be eating all of that ramen?”  ****  
****

Naruto, grins. “I can’t get enough of Ichiraku ramen!” Naruto says. “I just eat until I can’t eat anymore!”  ****  
****

Just then, Kakashi and Naruto, hear shouting a distance away. Kakashi, turns towards the sound. Naruto, gets up from his seat and peeks outside.  ****  
****

Sasuke and Keiko, chase Kazuto through the street. Sweat runs down both of Sasuke and Keiko’s faces.  ****  
****

“Get back here young man!” Keiko yells. “You have to take a bath.”  ****  
****

“NO!” Kazuto screams. “NO BATH FOR ME!”  ****  
****

Naruto, snickers at the sight. Kakashi, sighs and jumps into the air. Kakashi, lands in front of Kazuto, who stops running. Keiko, grabs a hold of her son. Sasuke, looks at Kakashi.  ****  
****

“Thank you Kakashi.” Sasuke says.  ****  
****

Kakashi, smiles under his mask. “Anytime.” Kakashi says.  ****  
****

Keiko, holding Kazuto under one arm, begins walking away. Kazuto, struggles in his mother’s grasp.  ****  
****

“I don’t wanna take a bath!” Kazuto says with a loud whine.  ****  
****

“Well, too bad!” Sasuke says as he walks next to Keiko. “You have to take a bath.”  ****  
****

Naruto, walks up next to Kakashi. Naruto, huffs and looks at Kakashi.  ****  
****

“I would have let Sasuke chase him around.” Naruto says.  ****  
****

Kakashi, looks at Naruto. “Naruto, have some sympathy for Sasuke.” Kakashi says. “Sasuke, has a very difficult life. He does take care of 46 children after all.”  ****  
****

* * *

Sasuke, sighs as he watches Keiko, restrain Kazuto. After Sasuke and Keiko, returned home with Kazuto, they quickly got back down to business. While Sasuke and Keiko were gone, Tamiko and Hitomi, managed to get Haruto bathed. Then, when Sasuke and Keiko returned, they locked all the doors so that Kazuto could not escape while Akirou was being bathed. Now, Kazuto, is almost done with his bath.  ****  
****

“NO!” Kazuto screams as Hitomi, rinses off Kazuto’s hair. “NO!”  ****  
****

Keiko, lifts her son out of the bathtub. Tamiko, begins drying Kazuto with a towel.  ****  
****

“NO!” Kazuto cries as he kicks wildly. “NO!”  ****  
****

Tamiko, then applies lotion to Kazuto’s skin. Kazuto, kicks and yells.  ****  
****

“NO!” Kazuto yells. “NO!”  ****  
****

Keiko, frowns at her son’s behavior. “Kazuto!” Keiko says. “This is unacceptable behavior!”  ****  
****

Once Tamiko is done applying the lotion, Sasuke hands Kazuto his underwear and pajamas.  ****  
****

“Here you go, your bath is done.” Sasuke says with a grumble. “Now it is time to get dressed.”  ****  
****

Kazuto, grumbles and crosses his arms. Sasuke, frowns.  ****  
****

“You are four years old.” Sasuke says. “You are a big boy. I could dress myself even before I was that age.”  ****  
****

Kazuto, puts on his underwear. Kazuto, grumbles when he looks at the pajamas. Kazuto, knows what pajamas mean. It will soon be time for bed.  ****  
****

“Pajamas too Kazuto.” Keiko says.  ****  
****

Kazuto, eventually puts on his pajamas. Kazuto, exits the bathroom. Sasuke, Keiko, Hitomi, and Tamiko all sigh.  ****  
****

“I am so glad that is over.” Tamiko says.  ****  
****

Sasuke, closes his eyes. Now that bath time is finally over with, it is time to put the children to bed. Another horrible task.


	8. Bedtime woes

Sasuke, carries Zakuro up the stairs. Komone, follows with Chiaki. Sasuke and Komone, reach the top and head straight for the bathroom. Sasuke, sets Zakuro down and picks up a blue toothbrush. Sasuke, then wets the toothbrush with some water from the sink. Sasuke, squirts a pea sized amount of toothpaste onto the bristles. Sasuke, holds the toothbrush in front of Zakuro’s mouth.  ****  
****

“Open wide.” Sasuke says.  ****  
****

Zakuro, slowly opens his mouth. Sasuke, begins brushing Zakuro’s teeth. Zakuro, then bites down on the brush. Sasuke, frowns. Zakuro, has a habit of doing that.  ****  
****

“Don’t bite down on the brush.” Sasuke says.  ****  
****

Zakuro, blinks and then opens his mouth back up. Sasuke, continues with his task. Komone, stands nearby. She carefully brushes Chiaki’s teeth. After a few minutes, Sasuke, takes the brush out of Zakuro’s mouth and sets it by the sink. Sasuke, then lifts Zakuro, up towards the sink so that Zakuro’s head is above the sink.  ****  
****

“Spit.” Sasuke says.  ****  
****

Zakuro, spits the toothpaste out of his mouth. Sasuke, then takes a small plastic cup and fills it with water. Sasuke, puts the cup towards Zakuro’s mouth and Zakuro, sips the water.  ****  
****

“Good, now swish.” Sasuke says.  ****  
****

Zakuro, swishes the water in his mouth. Sasuke, orders Zakuro, to spit the water out into the sink. Zakuro, spits the water out. Sasuke, quickly rinses off Zakuro’s toothbrush and puts it back in its place. Sasuke, then carries Zakuro out of the bathroom.  ****  
****

Sasuke, heads straight for a room decorated with blue and green. Futons are laid out on the floor. Sasuke, carefully sets Zakuro, down on a futon. Zakuro, looks up at his uncle with sleepy eyes.  ****  
****

“Lay down.” Sasuke says.  ****  
****

Zakuro, yawns and lays down. Sasuke, grabs Zakuro’s blue baby blanket. Sasuke, sets the object next to the young boy. Zakuro, smiles and picks up the blanket. Zakuro, cuddles the blanket. Sasuke, grabs Zakuro’s stuffed blue stegosaurus. Sasuke, holds the toy in front of Zakuro. Zakuro, smiles and takes the toy from Sasuke. Zakuro, cuddles his stuffed dinosaur as Sasuke, carefully covers him with a blanket.  ****  
****

Zakuro, yawns and turns to his side. “Night night Uncle Sasuke.” Zakuro says with a sleepy voice. Within minutes, Zakuro is fast asleep.  ****  
****

Sasuke, silently slips out of the room. He looks across the hall. In a room decorated with lilac, pink and white, Komone, is putting Chiaki, down for bed.  ****  
****

“Alright, lay down now.” Sasuke hears Komone say. Komone, holds Chiaki’s comfort objects.  ****  
****

Chiaki, yawns and lays down on the futon. Komone, hands the little girl her comfort objects. Chiaki, yawns again and cuddles the objects.  ****  
****

“Nighty night Auntie Komone.” Chiaki says with a little yawn. Within minutes, Chiaki, is fast asleep.  ****  
****

Komone, tip toes out of the room and joins Sasuke, in the hallway. Komone and Sasuke then head back downstairs. Saki, is waiting for them with Choumi, Kohana, and Benjiro. Sasuke, picks up Benjiro. Komone, picks up Kohana. Saki, picks up Choumi. Sasuke and the two women, carry the toddlers up the stairs. Sasuke, Saki and Komone head straight for the bathroom.  ****  
****

Sasuke, sighs and grabs a green toothbrush. Benjiro, Choumi and Kohana, can be a little difficult when it comes to having their teeth brushed. Sasuke, sets Benjiro down and wets the toothbrush. Sasuke, squirts some toothpaste onto the brush. Sasuke, holds the toothbrush in front of Benjiro’s mouth. Benjiro, frowns at the sight of the toothbrush.  ****  
****

“Open wide.” Sasuke says.  ****  
****

Benjiro, shakes his head and purses his lips. Sasuke, frowns.  ****  
****

“I said open wide.” Sasuke says.  ****  
****

Komone, holds a pink and white toothbrush in front of Kohana’s mouth. Kohana, frowns and turns her head away.  ****  
****

“Open your mouth please.” Komone says.  ****  
****

Kohana, keeps her head turned away. “No!” Kohana says.  ****  
****

Saki, holds a purple and white toothbrush in front of Choumi’s mouth. Choumi’s lips are sealed into a tight frown.  ****  
****

“Open your mouth.” Saki says. “It is time to brush your teeth.”  ****  
****

Choumi, shakes her head. Choumi, backs away from the toothbrush.  ****  
****

Sasuke and the two women sigh. Just like with sleeping, these kids need convincing when it comes to having their teeth brushed.  ****  
****

“Brushing your teeth is necessary.” Komone says. “Otherwise your teeth will not be all pretty and white like ours.”  ****  
****

Benjiro, Choumi, and Kohana all blink. Even though the three children are toddlers, they can understand words perfectly. They are the children of a genius afterall.  ****  
****

“Yes…,” Saki says. “Brushing keeps your teeth all sparkly and white.”  ****  
****

Benjiro, Choumi and Kohana, all blink again. They slowly unpurse their lips.  ****  
****

“Don’t you want your teeth to be all pretty and white?” Sasuke asks.  ****  
****

Benjiro, Choumi, and Kohana all blink a few times. After a few minutes the three children nod and open their mouths. Sasuke, Saki and Komone get to work quickly. After a few minutes they are done and help the children rinse their mouths. Sasuke, carries Benjiro, into the boys bedroom. Saki and Komone, carry Choumi and Kohana, into the girl’s bedroom.  ****  
****

Sasuke, sets Benjiro, down on a futon next to Zakuro’s futon. Benjiro, frowns a little. The little boy realizes what time it is. It is bedtime.  ****  
****

“No bed.” Benjiro declares. “Not sleepy.”  ****  
****

Sasuke, frowns. Across the hall, he can hear Choumi and Kohana, protesting.  ****  
****

“Not sleepy!” Sasuke hears Choumi say. “No sleep!”   ****  
****

“I don’t wanna go to bed!” Sasuke hears Kohana say.  ****  
****

“No sleep!” Benjiro says again. The little boy, crosses his little arms and pouts.  ****  
****

Sasuke, knows just what to do. He grabs Benjiro’s stuffed iguanodon and green baby blanket. Benjiro’s eyes widen.  ****  
****

“Going to bed means you get to cuddle with your dinosaur and special blanket.” Sasuke says. “If you lie down, I will give them to you.”  ****  
****

Benjiro, lies down instantly. Sasuke, gives Benjiro, the objects. Benjiro, smiles and cuddles the items. Sasuke, quickly covers the little boy with a blanket. Benjiro, yawns and closes his eyes. Within minutes, Benjiro, is snoring softly.  ****  
****

Sasuke, carefully gets up and tiptoes out of the room. Sasuke, looks across the hall. The girls room is silent. Komone and Saki, silently open the door. Sasuke, catches a glimpse of Kohana and Choumi, sleeping soundly on their futons. Komone and Saki, join Sasuke in the hallway.  ****  
****

“Time for Senna, Mitsuko, and Natsuko.” Komone whispers.  ****  
****

Sasuke, sighs. Those three girls are even more difficult when it comes to brushing their teeth.  ****  
****

* * *

Sasuke, frowns as he holds the toothbrush in his hand. Senna, stands in front of him. The little girl frowns intensely as she stares at the toothbrush. Motoko, stands nearby with Mitsuko. Komone, stands with Natsuko. Saki, guards the door. Senna, Mitsuko and Natsuko have the habit of trying to escape the bathroom, when it is time to brush their teeth. That is why Saki, is guarding the door.  ****  
****

Sasuke, grumbles and holds the toothbrush in front of Senna’s mouth. Senna, frowns and runs away. However, she cannot escape the bathroom, due to Saki guarding the door. Sasuke, grabs Senna and carries her away from the door.  ****  
****

Mitsuko, tries to escape next. Motoko, grabs her daughter and carries her away from the door. Natsuko, tries to escape next. Komone, grabs Natsuko and pulls her away from the door.  ****  
****

“NO!” Senna cries out.  ****  
****

Natsuko, shakes her head. “No.” Natsuko whispers.  ****  
****

Mitsuko, backs away and purses her lips tightly shut.  ****  
****

Sasuke, tries to shove the toothbrush into Senna’s mouth while it is open. However, Senna, acts quickly and shuts her mouth tight. Senna, shakes her head. Sasuke, sighs and gently pries Senna’s mouth open with his fingers. Sasuke, shoves the toothbrush into Senna’s mouth. Senna’s eyes widen. She frowns and eventually opens her mouth. Once you get the toothbrush into the children’s mouths, they will relent and let you brush their teeth.  ****  
****

Komone, gently pries Natsuko’s mouth open and shoves the toothbrush into it. Natsuko, grumbles and opens her mouth. Motoko, gently pries open Mitsuko’s mouth and shoves the toothbrush in. Mitsuko, crosses her arms and eventually opens her mouth.  ****  
****

Sasuke, Motoko, and Komone, accomplish their tasks as quickly as possible. Taking too long makes the children get antsy. Once the brushing is done, Sasuke and the women help the children rinse their mouths. Sasuke, picks up Senna. Motoko, picks up Mitsuko. Komone, picks up Natsuko. Saki, opens the door and leads the way out. Sasuke and the three women, make their way towards the girls bedroom. Saki, closes the door behind them. Saki, shall guard the bedroom door.  ****  
****

Sasuke, puts Senna down on her futon. Senna, frowns and jumps up. Sasuke, grabs Senna and lays the little girl back down on her futon.  ****  
****

“No bed!” Senna cries. “Not sleepy!”  ****  
****

Motoko, puts Mitsuko on her futon. Mitsuko, jumps up and tries to run out of the room.  ****  
****

“Not sleepy!” Mitsuko cries. Mitsuko, tries to run away. However, Motoko, grabs her daughter and places the girl back on the futon.  ****  
****

Mitsuko, wails on the futon. “NO!” Mitsuko cries. “NO! NO!” 

Komone, places Natsuko, on her futon. Natsuko, immediately jumps up and makes a beeline for the door. Komone, catches Natsuko and carries her back to the futon.  ****  
****

“NO!” Natsuko cries as Komone places her back on the futon.  ****  
****

Senna, jumps up again, but sasuke quickly grabs her. Senna, whines as Sasuke, lays her back down on the futon.  ****  
****

“NO BED!” Senna cries. She beats her little fists on the futon. “NO BED!”  ****  
****

Mitsuko, jumps up from her futon and tries to make a break for it. However, with Saki guarding the door, there is no escape. Motoko, carries daughter back to the futon. Mitsuko, wails in Motoko’s arms.  ****  
****

“WAAAH!” Mitsuko wails. “NO BED!”  ****  
****

Natsuko, jumps off of her futon again. Saki, blocks the door as the little girl tries to escape. Komone, grabs Natsuko and carries her back to the futon.  ****  
****

“NO!” Natsuko wails. “NOOOOOOO!”  ****  
****

Komone, grabs Natsuko’s stuffed saurolophus and lilac baby blanket. Natsuko, immediately stops crying. The little girl stares at the objects.  ****  
****

“Lay down.” Komone says. “Bedtime is cuddle time with your dinosaur and blankie.”  ****  
****

Natsuko, blinks a few times. Slowly, Natsuko lies down. Komone, smiles and hands Natsuko her comfort items. Natsuko, eventually smiles and cuddles the objects. Komone, covers Natsuko with a white blanket.  ****  
****

Sasuke, grabs Senna’s dolphin and pink blanket. Senna, stops wailing as Sasuke, holds the objects in front of her. Senna, reaches for her comfort items. Sasuke, swiftly pulls them away.  ****  
****

“No, no.” Sasuke says. “First, you need to lie down.”  ****  
****

Senna, blinks a few times. After a few minutes, Senna, relents and lies down. Sasuke, gives the girl her comfort items. Senna, eventually smiles and cuddles the objects.  ****  
****

Sasuke, looks over to Motoko. Motoko, holds Mitsuko’s dinosaur and blanket. Mitsuko, sniffles and reaches for the objects. Motoko, pulls the objects away and shakes her head.  ****  
****

“No dinosaur or blankie until you lie down.” Motoko says.  ****  
****

Mitsuko, blinks and sniffles a few more times. The little girl lies down on the futon. Motoko, sets the items next to Mitsuko. Mitsuko, smiles and cuddles the objects.  ****  
****

Sasuke, looks back towards Senna. Senna, is fast asleep under the covers. Sasuke, slowly gets up and tiptoes away from the futon. Motoko and Komone, do the same. Natsuko, Mitsuko, and Senna are all fast asleep. Saki, quietly opens the door. Sasuke and the three mothers slip out of the room. Once in the hallway they all let out sighs.  ****  
****

“And now…,” Saki whispers. “It is time to put Kenji, Ryuu, Satoshi, and Terashi to bed.”  ****  
****

Sasuke, rubs his temples. Brushing the teeth of all four boys can be a nightmare. ****  
****

* * *

Sasuke, frowns intensely as Ryuu, thrashes in his arms. Sasuke, holds a toothbrush in Ryuu’s mouth. Ryuu, wails as Sasuke cleans the boy’s teeth.  ****  
****

“Waaaah!” Ryuu wails, his mouth full of foamy toothpaste. “NO!”  ****  
****

Nearby, Komone, holds a thrashing Kenji in her lap. Saki, holds Satoshi in her lap. Motoko, holds Terashi in her lap. Yukiko, guards the bathroom door.  ****  
****

“NO!” Kenji wails as his mother tries to brush his teeth. “No!”  ****  
****

“NO!” Satoshi wails. “NOOOOOO!”  ****  
****

“NOOOOO!” Terashi, wails. His mouth is also full of foamy toothpaste. “NO!”  ****  
****

Sasuke, grumbles as he holds the struggling Ryuu in his arms. Sasuke, hates getting the little monsters ready for bed so much.  ****  
****

...ten minutes later… ****  
****

“NO BED!” Terashi, Satoshi, Ryuu, and Kenji, all wail together. “NO BED!”  ****  
****

The four boys try to run out of the room. Yukiko, blocks the doorway. Sasuke, Komone, Saki, and Motoko, quickly catch the boys and carry them back to their futons.  ****  
****

“NO BED!” Ryuu wails as Sasuke lays down on the futon. “NO BED!”  ****  
****

“Not sleepy mama!” Satoshi whines as Saki, sets him down on a futon. “Not sleepy.”  ****  
****

“NO!” Kenji wails. “NO SLEEP!”  ****  
****

“WAAAAH!” Terashi wails. “I Don’t wanna go to bed!”  ****  
****

Sasuke, grumbles. It is nights like these when he feels like pulling his hair out. Usually, Sasuke and the mothers have to wait for the four boys to tire out. Then, Sasuke will have to go to the two year olds house and begin the process all over again.  ****  
****

* * *

Sasuke, carefully prepares a futon for Tadase, in the boy’s room. Tamiko, is guarding the door. Across the hall in the girls room, Aika and Akira, are putting Umeko and Yuri down for bed. Saki, is guarding the door for them.  ****  
****

Sasuke, grumbles as he lays Tadase down on the futon. Tadase, immediately jumps up and tries to run away. Sasuke, grabs Tadase, and lays the little boy back down. Tadase, whines.  ****  
****

“I don’t wanna go to bed uncle Sasuke!” Tadase says. Tadase, tries to jump up again, but Sasuke catches him. Sasuke, lays Tadase back down.  ****  
****

“NO!” Tadase cries. “I don’t want to go to sleep!”  ****  
****

Across the hall, Umeko and Yuri are also pinching a fit.  ****  
****

“No!” Umeko cries as Aika lays her down on a futon. “No.”  ****  
****

“No bed!” Yuri cries as Akira lays her down on a futon. “Not sleepy!”  ****  
****

Sasuke, grits his teeth as Tadase, jumps up again. Sasuke, chases Tadase, and grabs him. Tadase, struggles in Sasuke’s grasp.  ****  
****

“No sleep!” Tadase says. “No sleep!”  ****  
****

Sasuke, simply carries Tadase, back to the futon. Sasuke, grabs Tadase’s blue triceratops and blue blanket. Tadase’s eyes widen.  ****  
****

“Lay down and you get to cuddle with your dinosaur and blanket.” Sasuke says. ****  
****

Tadase, whimpers and reaches for the objects. Sasuke, holds them away.  ****  
****

“No, no.” Sasuke says. “You need to lie down first.” ****  
****

Tadase, lays down on the futon. Sasuke, hands Tadase the stuffed triceratops and blanket. Tadase, eventually smiles and cuddles the objects. Within minutes, the youngster is fast asleep. Sasuke, covers the child with a blanket. Sasuke and Tamiko, slip out of the bedroom. The girls room is now silent. Saki, Aika and Akira slip out of the room.  ****  
****

“Good.” Saki whispers. “Now, we need to get Hajime, Chihaku, Yashiro, and Akashi to sleep.”  ****  
****

Sasuke, sighs and rubs his temples. Those four boys are an absolute nightmare when it comes to having their teeth brushed.  ****  
****

Himeko, Mio, and Daichi are a little easier when it comes to brushing their teeth. Aika and Akira, can get the three children’s teeth brushed no problem. Tomone and Aiko, can actually brush their teeth on their own. This leaves the rest of the two year olds, which are more difficult. Sasuke, Tamiko, and Motoko, need to help Aika and Akira. Working as a team is the only way to get anything done around here.  ****  
****

* * *

Sasuke, frowns as Hajime, thrashes in his arms. Foamy toothpaste leaks out the sides of Hajime’s mouth. Little blobs of toothpaste cover the bottom of Sasuke’s shirt and shorts. Nearby, Chihaku, Yashiro, and Akashi also struggle. Aika, Akira, and Motoko, are also covered with little blobs of toothpaste.  ****  
****

“NO!” Chihaku screams as he thrashes in Akira’s arms. “NO MAMA!”  ****  
****

Akira, frowns. “Hold still.” Akira says. “It will be over in a few minutes.”  ****  
****

“WAAAAH!” Yashiro cries as he thrashes around in Motoko’s arms. “NO!”  ****  
****

“NOOOOO!” Akashi cries as he thrashes around within Aika’s arms. “MAMA, NO!”  ****  
****

Sasuke, grits his teeth as he struggles to hold onto Hajime.  ****  
****

_Why me?_ Sasuke thinks to himself.  ****  
****

...ten minutes later... ****  
****

Saki, stands in front of the bedroom door. Sasuke, Aika, Akira, and Motoko, are currently chasing Hajime, Chihaku, Yashiro, and Akashi around the room.  ****  
****

Sasuke, catches Hajime and sets the boy down on a futon. Hajime, screams and thrashes on the futon.  ****  
****

“NO!” Hajime cries. “NO BED!”  ****  
****

“NOT SLEEPY!” Yashiro cries out as Motoko grabs him.  ****  
****

“NO MAMA!” Chihaku cries out as Akira, sets him down on a futon. “NO BED! NOT SLEEPY!”  ****  
****

“MAMA, PLEASE NO!” Akashi cries out as Aika, carries him towards a futon. “NO SLEEP!”  ****  
****

Hajime, tries to jump up off his futon. Sasuke, grabs him and lays him back down. Hajime, begins pounding his little fists on the futon.  ****  
****

“WAAAH!” Hajime wails. “NO SLEEP! NO SLEEP!”  ****  
****

“WAAAH!” Akashi screeches. “NOOOOOO!”  ****  
****

“NOOOOOO!” Chihaku wails. He pounds his little fists on his futon. “I DON’T WANNA SLEEP!”  ****  
****

“NO!” Yashiro cries. “NO!”  ****  
****

Sasuke, covers his ears and looks around. Tadase and Daichi, have woken up. Tadase’s eyes are open wide at the sight of his half-brothers throwing their tantrums. Tadase, covers his ears with his little hands.  ****  
****

Daichi, whimpers and covers his ears. Daichi, screws his eyes shut, trying to ignore the noise.  ****  
****

Sasuke, grumbles. This is just too much.  ****  
****

...ten minutes later… ****  
****

Sasuke, uncovers his ears. Hajime, Chihaku, Yashiro, and Akashi, all lay silently on their futons. The four boys wore themselves out around two minutes ago.  ****  
****

Sasuke, looks over to Tadase’s futon. Tadase, uncovers his ears. Tadase, turns on his futon and closes his eyes.  ****  
****

Akira, rubs Daichi’s back. “It’s alright, you can go back to sleep.” Akira whispers. ****  
****

Sasuke, tiptoes out of the room. It is time to repeat the process with the oldest children. However, Sasuke needs to go home and change out of his clothes first.  ****  
****

* * *

Sasuke, sets Yuuta down on a futon. This is the third time that the boy has gotten up off his futon.  ****  
****

“Why should I go to sleep now?” Yuuta asks with a frown. “Kazuto, Raiden, Akirou, and Haruto are gonna just wake me up later with their screaming.”  ****  
****

Masaru, is laying down on another futon. Masaru, looks at his uncle and half-brother.  ****  
****

“Yeah!” Masaru says with a frown. “They wake me up to!”  ****  
****

Sasuke, closes his eyes. Even though Yuuta, is very resistant when it comes to naptime, he is actually a little less resistant at bedtime. Yuuta, says that he likes it to be nice and dark when he is sleeping. However, Yuuta also likes his surroundings to be quiet. Masaru, is the same way.  ****  
****

“Your brothers can be very loud at bedtime that is true.” Sasuke says. “However, they will run out of energy at some point. If the two of you are already lying down when their tantrums stop, then it will be easier to go to sleep.”  ****  
****

Sasuke, gets up and leaves the room. Time for Kazuto, Akirou, Haruto and Raiden to brush their teeth. All of the children three and over are able to brush their teeth without assistance. They are getting to where they like to do some stuff for themselves. However, Kazuto, Akirou, Haruto and Raiden, would rather not brush their teeth. The four boys need a lot of persuading.  ****  
****

...ten minutes later… ****  
****

Sasuke, frowns as he looks at Kazuto. Kazuto, has his arms crossed. Haruto, Akirou, and Raiden all stand next to Kazuto.  ****  
****

Keiko, Tamiko and Hitomi, all stand close by. The three women hold toothbrushes in their hands.  ****  
****

“Why should we brush our teeth?” Kazuto asks with a huff. “I hate brushing my teeth!”  ****  
****

“So do I!” Akirou says. “Brushing teeth is boring.”  ****  
****

“Yeah!” Raiden says as he crosses his arms.  ****  
****

“Once I grow up, I will never ever brush my teeth again.” Haruto says.  ****  
****

“Brushing your teeth keeps them all sparkly and white.” Hitomi says. “Teeth are supposed to be white.”  ****  
****

“Nice sparkly white teeth are pretty teeth.” Keiko says.  ****  
****

Kazuto, narrows his eyes. “We are not girls…,” Kazuto says. “We don’t need to be _pretty_ .”  ****  
****

“Yeah!” Haruto says. “We are boys. Boys are _handsome_ , not pretty.”  ****  
****

Sasuke, frowns. “Handsome boys have white teeth to.” Sasuke says. “Discolored teeth can make a handsome man, look ugly.”  ****  
****

Kazuto, Akirou, Raiden, and Haruto all frown.  ****  
****

“Besides…,” Keiko says. “White teeth are healthy teeth. Teeth only stay white if they are cleaned everyday.”  ****  
****

“That is what brushing does.” Tamiko says. “Brushing with toothpaste, cleans your teeth.”  ****  
****

Kazuto, huffs. “Maybe I don’t care if my teeth are healthy or not.” Kazuto says.  ****  
****

Sasuke, frowns. “You need strong healthy teeth in order to chew food properly.” Sasuke says. “You boys like to eat don’t you?”  ****  
****

Kazuto, Akirou, Haruto and Raiden all look at Sasuke. Kazuto, raises a brow.  ****  
****

Sasuke, suddenly comes up with an idea. Sasuke, manages a slight grin. “Oh…,” Sasuke says. “I’ll bet you boys don’t know this.”  ****  
****

Keiko, Hitomi, and Tamiko all look at one another with confusion. What is Sasuke up to?  ****  
****

“If you never brush your teeth…,” Sasuke begins. “Then, eventually your teeth will turn _black_ .”  ****  
****

Kazuto’s eyes widen. Kazuto, looks at Haruto. Haruto’s eyes are wide. Akirou and Raiden look at one another with wide eyes.  ****  
****

“Do you know what happens when a person’s teeth turn black?” Sasuke asks.  ****  
****

Kazuto, Haruto, Akirou, and Raiden all shake their heads.  ****  
****

“When a person’s teeth turn black, the teeth will fall out.” Sasuke says. “And...the teeth will _never_ grow back.”  ****  
****

Kazuto, Haruto, Akirou, and Raiden all gasp with horror. The four boys quickly take their toothbrushes and begin brushing.  ****  
****

Sasuke, smirks. He had a feeling that would work.  ****  
****

...ten minutes later… ****  
****

Sasuke, chases Akirou around the room. Keiko, chases Kazuto. Hitomi, chases Haruto. Tamiko, chases Raiden. Saki, stands in front of the bedroom door. She has come to guard the door.  ****  
****

“Get back here young man!” Keiko says.  ****  
****

“NO!” Kazuto cries. “I hate bedtime!”  ****  
****

“NO SLEEP!” Raiden screams. “NO SLEEP!”  ****  
****

“I DON’T WANNA GO TO BED!” Haruto yells as Hitomi catches him. Hitomi, carries Haruto over to a futon.  ****  
****

Once set upon the futon. Haruto, begins thrashing around. He beats his fists on the futon.  ****  
****

“NO!” Haruto cries. ****  
****

Keiko, catches Kazuto and sets him on a futon. Kazuto, continues his tantrum.  ****  
****

“NO!” Kazuto cries. “NO!”  ****  
****

Sasuke, grimaces as he catches Akirou. Sasuke, so can’t wait for this night to be over.  ****  
****

...ten minutes later… ****  
****

Sasuke, sighs as he watches Kazuto, Akirou, Haruto and Raiden sleep soundly on their futons. Keiko, Tamiko, Hitomi, and Saki all sigh quietly. Sasuke, follows the four women out of the room. Once in the hallway, Keiko collapses.  ****  
****

“I am so glad that is over.” Keiko says with a sigh.  ****  
****

“So am I.” Hitomi says.  ****  
****

Sasuke, heads downstairs and looks at the messy playroom. Now it is time for the last task of the night. Helping Keiko, Tamiko, and Hitomi clean up the oldest children’s mess.   ****  
****

* * *

Sasuke, sighs as he steps out of the shower. After he got home, Sasuke, ate a little snack and then hopped into the shower. A nice warm shower always relaxes Sasuke before bed.  ****  
****

Sasuke, sighs and grabs a towel. Sasuke, begins drying himself. Then, Sasuke, applies some lotion and puts his night clothes on.  ****  
****

Sasuke, steps out of the bathroom. He heads for the kitchen, where a half filled glass of water is waiting on the counter for him. Sasuke, drank some water with his snack earlier. Sasuke, always drinks water after his shower as well.  ****  
****

Sasuke, sits at the counter and sips the water. He looks at the clock. It is 11:45pm.   ****  
****

_What a day._ Sasuke thinks to himself as he sips the last bit of water from the cup.  ****  
****

Sasuke, sets the empty cup next to the sink. Sasuke then heads upstairs to the bathroom. Sasuke, grabs some toothpaste and his toothbrush. Sasuke, quickly gets to work getting his teeth brushed. Once Sasuke is done with that, he walks into his room. Sasuke, collapses onto his bed and covers himself with a blanket.  **  
**

 _So tired…,_ Sasuke thinks to himself. Sasuke, closes his eyes and starts to let sleep overtake him. However, Sasuke knows that in the morning, he shall repeat the process. **  
**


	9. Interlude

...in a distant town in the Land of Fire…

Laughter and giggling comes from inside a brightly lit brothel. Women, sit in sofas and talk with men. Men, sit in the bar area and drink alcohol. Bartenders hand out drinks left and right.

Two black cloaked figures suddenly enter the brothel. However, none of the patrons inside the brothel bat an eye. 

Both of the black cloaked figures are men. The taller of the two men, has spiky blue hair, light blue skin, and three gill marks on each cheek. The taller man, lets out a wide grin, showing off a mouth full of shark like teeth. The man’s eyes are also shark like. 

The shorter of the two men, looks to be many years younger. The younger man, has black hair, pulled back into a short ponytail. The young man also has pure black irises, and pale skin. Line like birthmarks line the sides of the man’s face, just under his eyes. 

The bartender spots the two men. The bartender is a chubby man with brown hair, blue eyes, and a brown mustache. 

“What can I get you gentleman?” The bartender asks. 

The shark man, grins. “Two rounds of sake please.” The shark man says. “One for me and one for my partner.” 

“That will be fifty ryo altogether.” The bartender says. 

The shark man pulls out a wad of money. The shark man counts out twenty-five ryo and hands the paper bills to the bartender. The younger man, pulls out a wad of money as well and counts out twenty-five ryo. The younger man hands the bartender the money. 

“Two rounds of sake coming right up!” The bartender says. “And just so you know, refills are ten ryo each.” 

“That’s fine.” The shark man says. 

Within minutes, the drinks are ready. The two black cloaked men take their drinks and head over to a table. The shark man looks around at all of the women inside the brothel. 

“Lots of women in this brothel.” The shark man says with a grin. “Lots of pretty women.” 

“Yes…,” The younger man says with a monotone voice.

The shark man, looks around and sips his sake. “I don’t know about you but I could use a date tonight.” The shark man says.

The shark man looks at his partner. “What about you Itachi?” The shark man asks. “Do you see any women that you like?” 

The younger man, Itachi, looks around. “A few maybe.” Itachi says. Itachi, takes a sip of sake. 

The shark man, looks around. He spots a group of women sitting on a large U-shaped couch together. The shark man grins and points to the women. Itachi, looks over at the women. 

“Do you like any of those women?” The shark man asks. 

Itachi, frowns as he examines all of the women. “The blonde haired one looks a little too talkative for me.” Itachi says. “The orange haired one looks like she is already drunk. The brown haired one looks a little chubby. The black haired one has small boobs.” 

The shark man then looks over towards a sofa where two women are sitting. The women sit and chat pleasantly. One of the women, has long black hair, green eyes, red lips, and pale skin. The black haired woman wears a sleeveless green dress. The other woman has blonde hair, blue eyes, pink lips, and light skin. The blonde haired woman wears a blue sleeveless dress. 

The shark man, grins widely. “What do you think of those two women Itachi?” The shark man asks. 

Itachi, looks over at the two women. “They are both very beautiful.” Itachi says admittingly. “What do you think of them, Kisame?” 

The shark man, Kisame grins. “I like them.” Kisame says. “Which one would you rather have sex with, Itachi? The black haired one or the blonde haired one?” 

Itachi, sips some more sake. “The black haired one.” Itachi says. “You can have the blonde haired one, Kisame.” 

Kisame, grins. “Suits me just fine.” Kisame says. “I was going to pick the blonde haired one anyway.” 

Suddenly, the two women in question look over to the men’s table. The two women blush and start whispering to each other. Kisame grins instantly. 

“They both blushed when they looked over at us.” Kisame says. “They must be interested. Why don’t we go over and introduce ourselves?” 

Itachi, blinks a few times. “Fine with me.” Itachi says. 

Kisame, blinks a few times and narrows his eyes. Then, Kisame’s eyes widen. It is almost as if Kisame is remembering something. 

Kisame, abruptly gets up from the table. “I will be right back.” Kisame says. “I need to take care of some business.” 

Kisame, sets his drink down. Kisame, walks up to the bartender behind the counter. 

“Where is the restroom?” Kisame asks the bartender. 

The bartender, points to a hallway. “Down that hallway, to the left.” The bartender says. 

Kisame, disappears down the hallway. Itachi, frowns a little. Kisame, always goes to the bathroom before he has sex with women. 

After about five minutes, Kisame, reappears. Kisame, grins as he approaches the table. 

“I’m ready.” Kisame says. “Let’s go introduce ourselves.” 

...about ten minutes later…

Itachi and Kisame, sits with the two women. Itachi, sits next to the black haired woman. Kisame, sits with the blonde haired woman. 

The black haired woman smiles and leans against Itachi. She holds a drink in her hand. The blonde haired woman also holds a drink in her hand. 

“Thanks for the drinks.” The blonde haired woman says. “Oh by the way, my name is Hiaya.” 

“My name is Kiyomi.” The black haired woman says. 

“You’re welcome ladies.” Kisame says with a grin. “This is just what my partner and I needed after such a long day.” 

Kiyomi, looks at Itachi. “Would you boys be interested in some ‘fun’?” 

Itachi, blinks a few times. He knows exactly what Kiyomi, is asking. “Yes…,” Itachi says. “It is actually what my partner and I came here for.” 

“Name your price.” Kisame says quickly. 

“Kiyomi and I charge one hundred ryo per hour.” Hiaya says. “However, we charge 1000 ryo for all night encounters.” 

Kisame and Itachi, both get out their pocket books. The two men both count out 1000 ryo each. 

“My partner and I want all night encounters then.” Kisame says. 

Itachi, looks around. “It is getting crowded in here.” Itachi says. 

“Oh don’t worry boys, there are rooms upstairs.” Kiyomi says. “We shall take you to them.” 

Kiyomi and Hiaya, lead Kisame and Itachi upstairs. Kiyomi, opens up a door to reveal a bright room with a cozy looking bed. Hiaya, opens up another room to reveal a room with the exact same setup. 

“Come on in.” Hiaya says to Kisame. Kisame grins and looks at Itachi. 

“See you later man.” Kisame says as him and Hiaya disappear into the room. 

Kiyomi, smiles and leads Itachi into the room. Kiyomi, shuts the door behind them. Kiyomi, slowly starts to strip herself down. The now naked Kiyomi, lays down on the bed. 

Itachi, smirks and slowly takes off his clothes. The now naked Itachi, lays down on the bed next to Kiyomi. 

...the next morning…

Itachi, opens his eyes to light streaming in through the bedroom window. Itachi, looks next to him. Kiyomi, is sound asleep next to him. 

_ What a wonderful night. _ Itachi thinks to himself. 

Itachi, gets up and gathers his clothes. Itachi, redresses himself. Itachi, then slips out of the room. Itachi, heards noise across the hallway. Kisame, slips out of the room where him and Hiaya, did their business. Kisame, grins. 

“Ah,” Kisame sighs. “I had such a wonderful night. How about you?” 

“My night was amazing.” Itachi says. “How about we go find a decent restaurant and get some breakfast?” 

Kisame, grins. “Breakfast sounds good.” Kisame says. 

Kisame, then frowns and lifts his arm up. Kisame, feels his back. Kisame’s eyes widen. 

“I forgot Samehada!” Kisame says. “Be right back.” 

Kisame, silently slips back into the room. After a few minutes, Kisame, remerges...Samehada in hand. 

“Alright, let’s go.” Kisame says. 

Kisame and Itachi, both head down the stairs. 

...about an hour later…

Kiyomi, stirs in the bed. She opens her eyes and looks next to her. Her client is gone. 

_ He didn’t even say goodbye. _ Kiyomi thinks sadly to herself.  _ However, I did have an amazing night with him. _

Kiyomi, slowly sits up. Light is streaming in through the bedroom window. Kiyomi, figures that she better get ready and start the day. 

Kiyomi, slips out of the bed and gets ready to remove the sheets. It is brothel policy for the hookers to change sheets between clients. This helps to make the rooms more sanitary. 

Kiyomi, removes the blanket covering the bed. However, her eyes widen instantly. There is a large white stain on the sheet covering the bed. Oh shoot. Her client wasn’t wearing a condom. 


	10. Marker Mayhem

Sasuke, breathes slowly as he sleeps. Suddenly, Sasuke, feels something jump on his stomach. Sasuke, wakes up with a jolt. Kazuto, is sitting on top of Sasuke. Sasuke, frowns. 

“Morning Uncle Sasuke!” Kazuto, says with a wide smile. 

“Get off of me.” Sasuke says with a low growl. “That hurts.” 

Kazuto, frowns and gets off of his uncle. Sasuke, looks at the edge of his bed. The other children have surrounded the bed. 

“Uncle Sasuke, play with us.” Hikari says. “Today is Saturday!” 

Sasuke’s eyes widen. Team Seven doesn’t train together on weekends. This means Sasuke, gets to spend all day with these little brats. Oh joy. 

Sasuke, turns away. “Go away.” Sasuke says. “Leave me alone.” 

Kazuto and the other children frown. Kazuto and Akirou, grab Sasuke’s cover and pull it off the bed. Sasuke, frowns. 

“Give me my covers back!” Sasuke demands. 

Kazuto and Akirou, then grab Sasuke’s arms and start trying to pull him off of the bed. 

“Play!” Kazuto and Akirou say together. 

Sasuke, grimaces and sits up. He doesn’t want to fall like he did yesterday. 

“Alright!” Sasuke says with an angry voice. “I’m up!” 

All of the children begin jumping up and down. 

“Play!” The children all cry out. “Play! Play!” 

Sasuke, moans and covers his ears. He just hates weekends so much. 

* * *

Sasuke, growls as Hikari and Tsukiko, drag him towards a dollhouse. The children got done with their breakfast about 30 minutes ago. Now, the children want to play. 

“Play dollies with us Uncle Sasuke!” Hikari and Tsukiko say together. 

Sasuke, pulls his arms away. “No!” Sasuke says. “Boys don’t play with dolls!” 

Then, Kazuto and Akirou, grab Sasuke’s arms. They start to drag their uncle over to an area with toy swords, shuriken, and toy kunais. 

“Play ninja with us Uncle Sasuke!” Kazuto and Akirou, say together. 

Sasuke, growls and pulls his arms away. “No!” Sasuke says. “I don’t want to play with you! Just leave me alone!” 

“Play! Play! Play!” The children begin to chant. “Play! Play!” 

Sasuke, grits his teeth and runs out of the room. The children follow right behind him. Sasuke, ends up getting Cornered by the children. All of the children laugh and jump on Sasuke, accidentally knocking him out in the process. When the children all get off of their uncle, their eyes widen. 

“Uncle Sasuke?” Hikari asks with a cute little voice. “Are you ok?” 

Sasuke, does not respond. Hoshiko, gently taps Sasuke’s shoulder. Sasuke, still does not respond. Hoshiko, looks at her half-siblings.

“I don’t think that Uncle Sasuke is ok.” Hoshiko says. 

Kazuto, looks at Sasuke’s moving chest. “Uncle Sasuke is breathing.” Kazuto says. “Maybe we just knocked him out.” 

Reika, frowns. “But he can’t play with us if he’s knocked out.” Reika states with a pout. 

Kazuto, then grins. “Uncle Sasuke can’t play with us.” Kazuto says. “However, we can play with him. I have an idea. Come on.” 

Kazuto, leads the other children to the playroom, leaving Sasuke unconscious on the floor. 

Kazuto, grabs a box of markers. Kazuto, holds out the box of markers. 

“Uncle Sasuke is so plain.” Kazuto says with a grin. “We should make him more colorful.” 

All of the other boys look at one another. Akirou, Haruto, Yuuta, and Raiden eagerly grab markers from the box. The four boys grin. 

“Yeah!” Akirou says. “We make Uncle Sasuke more colorful!” 

Akashi, Tadase, Yashiro, Chihaku, Daichi, and Hajime soon grin. They grab markers from the box as well. The girls just look at one another. 

“You mean we will draw on Uncle Sasuke?” Kaida asks. 

“Yeah!” Kazuto says. “We can draw whatever we want on Uncle Sasuke.” 

Many of the girls soon get the idea. They grin and grab markers from the box. 

“I want to draw flowers!” Sayuri says. “I think flowers would look good on Uncle Sasuke!” 

Kazuto, grins and grabs a black marker from the box. Only four children are not holding markers. Masaru, Hoshiko, Aiko, and Tomone all look skeptically at their half-siblings. The four children don’t really think that this idea is a good one. 

Kazuto, leads the children out of the playroom and over to where Sasuke is lying. Kazuto and all of the other children who are holding markers, grin and uncap their markers. 

...about ten minutes later…

Sasuke, starts to come to. He slowly sits up. Sasuke, looks around. The children stand around him. The children all giggle and laugh. Sasuke, frowns. 

“What’s so funny you little brats,” Sasuke asks. 

Sasuke, then spots markers in his nieces and nephews hands. The only ones who are not holding markers are Masaru, Hoshiko, Aiko and Tomone. The four children are standing off to the side. Their eyes are downcast. 

Sasuke’s eyes widen instantly. Something tells him to look at his hands. When Sasuke does, he almost screams. Sasuke, gets up and runs to the bathroom. Sasuke, looks in the mirror and lets out an angry scream. 

Sasuke’s face, hands, arms, shirt, and shorts are all covered with little drawing...made with marker. And it is not just one color either. Sasuke’s body is like a rainbow. Sasuke, looks down. His feet are also covered with marker. The only area not covered with marker, is Sasuke’s backside. 

“YOU LITTLE BRATS!” Sasuke yells. “THOSE BETTER NOT BE PERMANENT MARKERS!” 

Outside the bathroom the eyes off all the children widen. Their uncle certainly does not sound happy with them. 

Masaru, Hoshiko, Aiko, and Tomone all shiver at the loudness of their uncle’s voice. They knew their uncle would not be happy.

All of the sudden, Sasuke, comes out of the bathroom. Sasuke, snatches the marker that Kazuto is holding and reads the writing on it. Sasuke, sighs with relief. 

“Oh good, they are washable.” Sasuke says. 

Sasuke, then confiscates all of the markers and goes to find the box. When he does, Sasuke, puts all of the markers in it and then puts the box on a high shelf. 

“Since you used the markers on me I am taking the markers away for a while.” Sasuke says. 

“Awwwwww…,” The children whine. 

“No whining!” Sasuke says. “It’s your fault that I had to take the markers away.” 

Sasuke, then walks back into the bathroom. “Now I have to wash all of this marker off of me.” Sasuke says. 

Sasuke, walks into his bedroom and grabs a clean outfit. Sasuke, then walks over to a closet and grabs a towel. Sasuke, returns to the bathroom and closes the door. Soon the children hear the sound of running water. Masaru, Hoshiko, Aiko, and Tomone all look at their half-siblings. Hoshiko, frowns intensely.

“Look what you did.” Hoshiko says. “You made uncle Sasuke so mad he took away all of the markers!” 

Kazuto, grins. “I can get them back.” Kazuto says with a whisper. “I will be right back.” 

Kazuto, then fetches a step ladder and climbs the step ladder. Kazuto, manages to retrieve the box of markers. When Kazuto, gets off of the step ladder he grins and leads everyone to Sasuke’s bedroom. Masaru, Hoshiko, Aiko, and Tomone all look at each other. They don’t like the looks of this. 

Kazuto, turns to everyone. “Uncle Sasuke’s room is plain.” Kazuto says. “We should make it more colorful.” 

Masaru, lets out a gasp. Tomone, blinks a few times. Hoshiko and Aiko both gasp and cover their mouths. The four children know that this is _definitely_ not a good idea.

However, all of the other children grin and eagerly take markers out of the box. Hoshiko, squeaks and runs out of the room. Masaru, Aiko, and Tomone follow her. The four children do not want to see their uncle’s reaction when he gets done with his shower. 

Hoshiko, Aiko, and Tomone, end up running into their grandparents old bedroom. Hoshiko, crawls into the closet. Aiko, crawls after her half-sister. Tomone, crawls under the bed. Hoshiko and Aiko, huddle in the closet. Tomone, whimpers as lays underneath the bed. Hoshiko, quickly covers her ears. Aiko, copies her half-sister’s movements. The two girls do not want to hear their uncle’s reaction either. 

Meanwhile, Masaru, has run into Itachi’s old bedroom. Masaru, sits inside the closet. He whimpers to himself. 

“Uncle Sasuke is going to be so mad.” Masaru, whispers to himself. 

...ten minutes later…

Sasuke, emerges from the bathroom. He holds his colored over outfit in his hands. 

 _Man, I need to douse these clothes in stain remover._ Sasuke thinks to himself. 

Sasuke, walks down the stairs and grabs a bucket from the laundry room. Sasuke, then grabs a bottle of stain remover and pours some into the bucket. Sasuke, then fills the bucket with some water and puts his soiled outfit into the bucket. Now, Sasuke, just needs to let it sit. 

Sasuke, sighs and walks out of the laundry room. Sasuke’s eyes widen when he realizes something. The place is eerily quiet.  

 _It’s too quiet in here._ Sasuke thinks to himself. _What are those little brats up too?_

Sasuke, quickly searches all of the room downstairs. Sasuke, then heads upstairs and heads straight for the playroom. Sasuke’s eyes widen when he sees the step ladder. His eyes widen even more when he realizes that the box of markers is not on the shelf. 

Then, Sasuke, gets a terrible feeling and looks down the hallway towards his bedroom. His bedroom door is ajar. Sasuke, gasps and runs down the hallway. He opens the door and freezes. 

Little drawings cover the lower half of Sasuke’s bedroom walls. Even Sasuke’s bedroom floor and bed are covered with marker. Kazuto, looks up from his drawing. The other children do so as well. 

Sasuke’s face becomes red. He trembles with absolute rage. 

“YOU LITTLE BRATS!” Sasuke screams at the top of his lungs. 

Sasuke’s scream is heard all the way outside. The mothers and youngest toddlers look up from what they are doing. 

Inside Fugaku and Mikoto’s old bedroom, Hoshiko and Aiko, shiver inside of the closet. Covering their ears didn’t help. They could still hear their uncle’s reaction very clearly. Underneath the bed, Tomone, gasps and covers her ears. She starts to cry. 

Inside Itachi’s old bedroom, Masaru, whimpers and covers his ears. 

“Uncle Sasuke is really really mad.” Masaru whispers to himself. 

Inside Sasuke’s bedroom, Kazuto and the other children, drop their markers. Their eyes are wide as they watch their uncle tremble with rage. Kaida, gulps a little. 

 _This probably wasn’t a good idea…,_ Kaida thinks to herself. 

Sasuke, lets out another angry yell and launches himself at the nearest child, which just so happens to be Kaida. Kaida, shrieks and manages to dodge Sasuke just in time. Sasuke, falls to the floor. 

Kazuto, swiftly runs out of the bedroom. The other children follow. Kaida, follows but she yells out one thing before she exits the bedroom. 

“IT WASN’T MY IDEA!” Kaida cries. “IT WAS KAZUTO’S! DRAWING ON YOU WAS KAZUTO’S IDEA TO!”   

Sasuke’s face is red with rage as he gets up off of the floor. _Kazuto!_ Sasuke thinks as he runs out after the children. 

Outside the house, Keiko and many other mothers have gathered outside the door. They are getting ready to enter to see what is wrong. Across the street, baby crying comes out of the infant house and the one year olds house. Sasuke’s scream was so loud, even the babies heard it. 

Keiko, slides open the door. Tamiko, stands behind Keiko. 

“What could the children have done to make Sasuke so angry?” Tamiko, asks no one in particular. 

Keiko, shrugs. “I don’t know, but I guess we are about to find out.” Keiko says.  

Suddenly, a rush of children runs out the door, knocking Keiko, Tamiko and the other mothers over. 

“Oof…,” Keiko says as she falls to the ground. “What on earth?” 

Sasuke, runs out the door seconds later. Sasuke’s eyes and face are red with absolute rage. 

“GET BACK HERE!” Sasuke yells at the top of his lungs. “WAIT UNTIL I GET MY HANDS ON YOU LITTLE BRATS!” 

Keiko, Tamiko and the other mothers watch with wide eyes as Sasuke chases the children up and down the street. Keiko, gets up and rushes inside to find out what has made Sasuke so angry.


	11. Isamu goes flying

Sasuke is jolted awake by something jumping on him. Sasuke growls when he opens his eyes and sees Kazuto sitting on his stomach. Kazuto smiles and begins cheering. “Yay!” Kazuto says. “Uncle Sasuke is awake!” 

Sasuke looks around his bed. His nieces and nephews have surrounded his bed. Sasuke grumbles as he picks Kazuto up off his stomach and literally drops the child to the floor. Kazuto just blinks and gets up. He grabs Sasuke’s right arm and starts pulling. Hikari gets on the other side of the bed and starts pulling on Sasuke’s left arm. “Uncle Sasuke, please get up. It is morning.” Hikari says with a begging voice. 

“Play!” All of the other kids say. “Play...play...play!” 

Sasuke grumbles and tries to pull his arms from Kazuto and Hikari’s grasps. However, the two kids hold on tight and keep on tugging. It has been three days since the marker incident. Ever since, the kids have been silent around Sasuke, which suits Sasuke just fine. They didn’t even wake him up during those two days, which Sasuke is thankful for. When Sasuke had finally caught up to the kids that day, after he chased them all throughout the compound, he literally _exploded_ . Sasuke screamed and yelled so loud, apparently the villagers living right outside the compound could hear him. Sasuke’s reaction must have positively shocked and _scared_ the little brats to the core, which would explain their silence around him. However, it appears that the little brats have gotten over their shock and have returned to their annoying little selves. Sasuke grumbles even more as Kazuto tugs on his right arm. “Uncle Sasuke, play!” Kazuto says. 

“Play!” All of the other children say. “Play!” 

Hikari again tugs on Sasuke’s left arm. “Uncle Sasuke, play!” Hikari says with a pleading voice. 

“Play!” All of the other children say. “Play!”  

Kazuto again tugs Sasuke’s right arm. “Uncle Sasuke, play!” Kazuto says. 

“Play!” All of the other children say. “Play...play...play!” 

Sasuke grumbles some more. He knows that if he doesn’t get up, then the kids will start screaming. Sasuke finally sits up in his bed. “Alright!” Sasuke yells. “I’m up.” 

The kids all go silent. Kazuto and Hikari let go of their uncle’s arms. Their eyes are wide. Sasuke just gets up out of the bed and walks out of the room. The kids just watch him leave. They all look at one another. They all thought their uncle would be over the whole ‘marker incident’ with his bedroom walls and his clothes by now. Apparently not.

* * *

Sasuke sighs as he gets ready for his day. After doing his morning chores around the compound, Kakashi came into the compound and told him that team seven would be doing a mission outside of the village the whole day, and to pack a lunch. The bento box that Sasuke packed is sitting on a table by the door. Now, it is time to get his sandals on and head out. 

Nearby, the kids just stand there, watching their uncle get ready to leave. They are desperate to play but their uncle _still_ seems to be angry about the whole ‘marker incident’. The kids then look at the bento box on the table. They have never known their uncle to pack a bento box for a mission before. Hoshiko just blinks as she finally musters up the courage to ask her uncle what the bento box is for. “Uncle Sasuke…,” Hoshiko says with a sweet voice. “What is that bento box for?” 

Sasuke just looks at Hoshiko and the other kids. “I am going to be gone outside the village almost the entire day.” Sasuke simply says with no emotion. “I need to eat don’t I?” 

Hoshiko and the other kids gasp. Their uncle is going to be gone outside the village!? And he is going to be gone almost the entire day!? Sayuri cries a little. “Don’t go uncle Sasuke! We want to play!” 

“Well, Too bad!” Sasuke says with a tense voice. “It is a mission and I will make money from it. We need money!” 

Without another word Sasuke gets up and grabs his bento box. He silently slides open the door and walks out the door. As he prepares to close the door behind him, he hears a very loud shriek come from the infant house. Sasuke’s eyes widen when he realizes who it is. It is Yukiko. Sasuke just sighs as he makes his way towards the infant house. What could be wrong? 

As Sasuke enters the infant house, he immediately finds Yukiko standing outside the door to the room where she keeps an eye on Yamiko, Imari and Osamu. Yukiko is holding baby Yamiko in her arms and she is wide eyed and hyperventilating. Ikeri rushes into the hallway and puts a hand on Yukiko’s shoulder. “Yukiko!” Ikeri says with a panicked voice. “What is the matter?!” 

“RAT!” Yukiko practically screams. “I was just rocking Yamiko, when I saw it run across the room. It disappeared into a hole.” 

Sasuke just frowns. Seriously? All of this because of a _little_ rat. But then again, rats do occasionally try to attack babies. That is probably why Yukiko is panicking. Ikeri’s eyes widen as she glances into the room. After a few minutes, Ikeri sighs. “If you are afraid that the rat might come back, then you can join me in babysitting the other babies.” 

Yukiko relaxes a little. “Thank you.” Yukiko says. 

Sasuke just grumbles and leaves the infant house. However, he is met by the kids. Kaida whines and grabs onto Sasuke’s shirt. “Uncle Sasuke, please don’t leave. We want to play.” Kaida says with a pleading voice. 

Sasuke growls and tugs his shirt out of Kaida’s grasp. “I said no and that is final!” Sasuke says. Sasuke turns to leave. However, he turns to look at the kids one last time. “And even don’t think about following me!” 

And with that said, Sasuke finally starts making his way towards the compound entrance. The kids just watch their uncle leave with eyes full of disappointment.

* * *

Sasuke looks at the sky. It has been many hours since he left the village. It is now three O’clock in the afternoon. It has been a very blissful day without the kids bothering him. 

Nearby, Kakashi, Sakura and Naruto are all busy digging up potatoes. Team Seven’s mission is to help a rich farmer harvest his potatoes. The farmer recently broke his arm, and is now unable to properly dig up the potatoes. This is where Team Seven comes in. The four leaf shinobi have been tasked with digging up the potatoes for the farmer. And right now, as usual, Naruto is complaining about the dullness of the mission. Naruto grumbles. “This is so boring!” Naruto exclaims with a huff. 

“Naruto, don’t complain.” Sakura says. “It’s our mission!” 

Naruto just grumbles as he pulls up a bunch of potatoes from the earth, all stuck to the root of it’s top plant. Naruto tosses the potatoes into a barrel close by. “But digging up potatoes is not what I’ve trained to do!” Naruto exclaims with a loud moan. “I am ninja. I should be out there fighting enemy ninja and practicing my shinobi skills!” 

Sasuke just grumbles as he continues with the task at hand. Sometimes, he just doesn’t know what is worse. His nieces and nephews screams, or his idiot blond haired teammate’s whining and complaining.

* * *

Kazuto and the other older children just walk around the village. After their uncle left the village, they tried to occupy themselves. However, the kids got bored with what they were doing and after lunch, they decided to venture out and find something to do. And even though their uncle Sasuke had told them not to follow him, the kids decided that it wouldn’t _hurt_ to wait at the gate for him. Of course, they grew bored with just standing at the gate. So the kids are now trying to figure out a game to play. However, none of them can agree on _what_ game to play. 

Hoshiko thinks for a minute. Then she smiles. “I know, we can play hide and seek!” 

Kazuto and all of the other boys grumble. “We have played that so many times.” Kazuto says. “There probably isn’t a place within the village that we haven't used to hide in. We know all of the hiding places within the village. The game just isn’t as fun when you know all of the hiding places.” 

Hoshiko frowns, deflated by her half-brother’s statement. Reika then smiles as she comes up with an idea. “I know, we can play tag!” Reika says as she smiles. 

However, Kazuto and the other boys grumble at that suggestion as well. “All we do is run until we are tagged.” Kazuto says. 

Kazuto then looks at Akirou. He frowns. “And besides, Akirou always _cheats_.” Kazuto says with a slightly angry voice. 

Akirou narrows his eyes. “I do not cheat!” Akirou says with a slightly offended voice. 

The other kids just frown at Akirou. What Kazuto is saying _is_ the truth. Akirou regularly plays tricks on his siblings in order to win. 

“Yes you do!” Kazuto shoots back. “You’re always tricking us so that we either trip or stop running!” 

“Yeah…,” Masaru then says with a frown on his own face. “One time that you were it, you shouted that I was about to run into a hole when there wasn’t one. I stopped running and you tagged me. That was so mean!”  

“One time I was running from you and you told me that I had a _spider_ on my back!” Sayuri says with a frown. “I fell to the ground and started rolling around to try and to get it off of me...and you tagged me. That was _really_ mean. You know I hate spiders!” 

“Sayuri didn’t even have a spider on her back.” Tsukiko says with a frown. “She practically screamed her lungs out as she rolled around, trying to get it off, when it wasn’t even there!” 

Kazuto then frowns when he remembers one incident that actually left him injured. “One time, you practically made me run into a tree...and I broke my nose! We had to find Uncle Sasuke so that he could take me to the hospital.” 

Raiden then frowns when he thinks of something else. “You also cheat when we play hide and seek. One time...we were all in the forest and you screamed that the forest was on fire! We all practically jumped out of our hiding places.” 

“Yeah!” Kaida says with a frown. “We were screaming cause we _really_ did think that the forest was on fire. We almost ran into each other. And all you did was laugh as you tagged us. That was so mean! All of us really thought that we were going to die!” 

Haruto frowns as he remembers almost meeting a terrible fate because of that incident. “I ended up running into the street, and almost got run over by a rolling cart!” Haruto says with an angry voice. 

Akirou just huffs. “All of you believed it so it is all your fault for running like that.” Akirou says. 

Kazuto huffs. “Games are not fun if people cheat.” Kazuto says. 

The girls all just cross their arms. Now that they remember just how much their brother cheats, they don’t feel like playing games today. They would rather play with their dolls back at the compound. It is Hikari who speaks up first. “You know what…,” Hikari says as she looks at her sisters. “I don’t feel like playing games today. I would rather play with dollies.” 

“Yeah, me too.” Hoshiko says. 

“Yeah, me too. Let’s go home.” Tsukiko says. 

And with that, all of the girls start walking home. The boys are left in the street to think things over. Well, if the girls feel like going home, then maybe they should as well. And...the boys don’t really feel like playing games with Akirou _either_. And with that, Kazuto and the other boys begin following the girls. Akirou is just left standing in the street. Eventually, the boy just huffs and follows after his brothers and sisters.

* * *

Sasuke sighs as he helps to load the last of the potatoes into a cart. His entire body is sore from the hard work that he has done today. But yet, being away from the little monsters was very blissful. 

The farmer, whose arm is in a sling, stands nearby. He smiles at the leaf shinobi. “I thank all of you so much.” The farmer says. The farmer then summons his wife who carries four small bags of potatoes. “Here...to show my gratitude, I had my wife make bags of potatoes for all of you to take home.” 

Kakashi smiles underneath his mask. Kakashi graciously accepts a bag. “Thank you, very much.” Kakashi says. “It is a much appreciated gesture.” 

Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke accept their bags of potatoes with equal thanks. Sasuke looks down at his bag. There has to be at least three pounds of potatoes in it. Not much for ten women, forty-six children, and one preteen, but there are ways to stretch the bag. Hearty soups of potatoes, lentils and other vegetables are always a go to in the Compound. 

As team seven waves goodbye to the farmer, Sasuke looks at the horizon. The village is just a two mile walk from here. Before he knows it, he will be home. Back home to care for the little hellions. Oh joy.

* * *

Kazuto, Akirou, Haruto, Yuuta, Masaru and Raiden are walking around the infant house, trying to find something to do. The girls have contented themselves to play with their dolls in the playroom. The three year old boys became enthralled with the idea of playing blocks after seeing the two year olds playing happily with them. It has now left the six eldest boys to find something to do. No matter where they seem to look, they just cannot find anything interesting to do. The six boys are just so bored. They want something _new_ and fun to do. 

Just then, Kazuto comes across a door that is ajar. He decides to open it, just for the hell of it. On the other side, is a room full of babies. It is the room that Ikeri babysits in. However, Ikeri and Yukiko are nowhere to be found. It is just the babies. The large window on the wall opposite the door is open, letting a cool breeze in. 

Masaru, pokes his head in. “Oh look, it’s our baby brothers and sisters.” Masaru says as he enters the room. Masaru approaches a blanket on the floor that holds three playing babies. The babies coo, giggle and laugh as they play. “Hm, our baby brothers and sisters seem to be having fun.” 

Kazuto’s eyes land on Isamu, who is seated in a bouncy seat suspended from the ceiling. The seat is suspended from the ceiling by long stretchy cords, which allow infants placed within the seat to bounce and work on their leg muscles. Despite Isamu just being six and half-months old, he can pretty much sit up in the seat by himself. 

Kazuto just watches as baby Isamu bounces happily in his seat. Kazuto just looks wonderingly at the cords attaching the seat to the ceiling. Kazuto then grabs one of the cords and pulls on it. The cord is stretchy. The young boy has never seen anything quite like these stretchy cords. Kazuto smiles and pulls on the other cord. This causes the seat to bounce even more. Isamu giggles. “Hey guys, check this out!” Kazuto calls out to his brothers. 

Akirou, Haruto, Yuuta, Masaru and Raiden all approach the bouncy seat as well. Kazuto pulls the cords again, causing the seat to bounce again. “Look, these cords are stretchy.” Kazuto says. Kazuto starts pulling the cords again, causing the bouncy seat to bounce. “Bouncy!” 

Akirou’s eyes widen with interest. “You’re right.” Akirou says. Akirou reaches for the cords, only for Kazuto to pull them away with a frown. Akirou frowns. “Hey, I want to bounce him too.” 

“No!” Kazuto says. “I want to bounce him.” 

Akirou growls and literally snatches the cords into his own hands. Akirou tries to wrestle the cords away from Kazuto. Kazuto however, holds tight to the cords. Kazuto and Akirou are now fighting over the cords, which is causing the bouncy seat to be stretched. The other boys look at one another. They all have a weird feeling that something bad is about to happen. 

Outside, the mothers are busy working. They are unaware of the dangerous tug of war happening in the playroom upstairs in the infant house. Ikeri is busy hanging up some laundry. Yukiko is busy carrying harvested vegetables into the houses. Since the babies were content and happy, the two of them decided to steal a few moments in order to get much needed chores down. A shiver suddenly goes up Ikeri’s spine. She looks up at the open window of the playroom which holds her son and the other babies. She narrows her eyes. Why does she all of the sudden have such a bad feeling? Maybe she should go back up into the playroom to check on things. However, just before Ikeri can set down the laundry and go back up to the playroom, she spots Sasuke walking up to the houses. And it looks like Sasuke is carrying a sack of something. Sasuke is soon met by Keiko. Sasuke simply hands the sack to Keiko. Keiko opens the sack and her eyes widen. “Potatoes!?” 

“They are a gift of gratitude from the farmer that my team and I helped.” Sasuke simply says. 

Keiko manages to smile. “Oh, how very generous of him.” Keiko says. 

Back upstairs in the playroom, Akirou and Kazuto are still fighting over the cords to the bouncy seat. Isamu is starting to whimper and fuss at the feeling of his seat being stretched so hard and so much. 

“Let go!” Kazuto says very loudly as he fights for control of the bouncy seat. 

“No, you let go!” Akirou yells as he fights for control of the bouncy seat. 

A few feet away, the rest of the boys just look at one another. Masaru turns to Haruto. “I think this is starting to get out of control. Don’t you think so?” Masaru asks his half-brother. 

“Totally.” Haruto says. “I mean...what is so fun about that seat? It’s a seat with stretchy cords.” 

Outside in the street below, Sasuke and the other mothers can now clearly hear the fight happening in the playroom upstairs in the infant house. Sasuke narrows his eyes. That sounds like Akirou and Kazuto. What are those two doing in the babies playroom?

In the playroom, Akirou and Kazuto finally trip in their scuffle. They let go of the cords, causing the seat to literally be thrust forward. Isamu wails as he goes flying out of the seat...and eventually out the open window. Masaru, Raiden, Yuuta and Haruto all gasp and literally cover their mouths. The four of them just know that this is a _very bad_ thing. Both Kazuto and Akirou just stare at the open window and the empty bouncy seat with wide eyes. 

The two boys know that they just messed up...big time. 

Sasuke and the mothers look up at the window as they hear the sound of what sounds like rubber bands being snapped. Then, the sound of Isamu wailing fills the air. Before Sasuke knows it, a small form with black hair and pale skin, dressed in a blue onesie, literally sails out the open window. Ikeri screams with absolute horror. She knows that is her baby. “NOOOOO, MY BABY!” Ikeri screams. 

Sasuke acts quickly. Sasuke propels himself forward, arms outstretched. As Isamu starts descending to the ground, Sasuke leaps and manages to catch Isamu’s small body with his hands. Sasuke ends up falling onto his stomach, but Isamu doesn’t hit the ground. Isamu wails with all his might, but he is ok. 

In the playroom, Masaru musters up the courage to look outside. Masaru gasps when he sees that his uncle is back...and that his uncle is holding baby Isamu in his hands. Even though he didn’t exactly see what happened, Masaru has a pretty good idea of what just happened. His uncle _saved_ baby Isamu. “Look!” Masaru calls out to his brothers. “Uncle Sasuke is back and he caught Isamu! Yes he did!” 

Ikeri trembles as she takes her wailing baby boy from Sasuke’s hands. Ikeri then cries out with absolute relief when she sees that her baby is alright. Ikeri hugs baby Isamu to her chest and kisses his tiny head and face all over. Sasuke manages to bring himself into a sitting position. He looks up at the open window above. His six eldest nephews are now standing at the window. Sasuke glares up at them and looks accusingly from one face to another. Masaru gulps and points to Kazuto and Akirou. Haruto, Yuuta, and Raiden all point to Kazuto and Akirou as well. Kazuto and Akirou just gulp as they look down at their angry...yet shocked looking uncle. Their uncle Sasuke now knows that this was their fault. 

Sasuke just looks up at Kazuto and Akirou with his accusing stare. The looks on the two boys' faces tell Sasuke everything that he needs to know. _Guilty_. Sasuke gets to his feet and just looks up at his two eldest nephews with a deathly look. Sasuke then points to each boy and then subsequently points to the ground in front of him. Kazuto and Akirou both gulp. They know what that means. Their uncle wants to see them right now, and there is no way out of it. Kazuto and Akirou slowly begin walking away from the playroom window and towards the door, ready to face their angry uncle. Masaru, Raiden, Yuuta and Haruto just follow their older half-brothers. The four boys know that this ain’t gonna be pretty. 

Back down on the ground, Sasuke waits for his nephews. He is filled with anger and yet absolute shock at the same time. He is angry because he literally had to strain his already sore body in order to save Isamu from certain death. Sasuke just blinks as he rubs his strained arms. Despite his dislike of the baby...he just couldn’t bring himself to let his own baby nephew literally go _splat_ onto the ground. That is why Sasuke literally leapt forward in order to save Isamu. Besides, Isamu is just an infant, and despite the baby being a squalling little monster at times, he didn’t deserve to die like that. 

Sasuke then takes a deep breath as the full gravity of the situation finally hits the Uchiha. He feels anger, shock and a tinge of _horror_ at what just occurred. 

Kazuto and Akirou... _nearly_ killed their baby half-brother. Just _what_ were those two brats doing up in the playroom? And _why_ were they even up there in the first place?


	12. Thoughts

Akirou and Kazuto finally reach the door and open it. Their uncle is standing out in the street. All of the mothers are gathered as well as the oldest girls. Hikari, Tsukiko, Reika, Sayuri, Hoshiko and Kaida all stand in the doorway to their house. The six girls look at one another with wide and questioning eyes. Why do their brothers look so fearful? Why are all the mothers, and especially their Uncle Sasuke, looking at Kazuto and Akirou with such angry and  _ horrified _ eyes? 

Hoshiko turns to Hikari and Tsukiko. “Uncle Sasuke, your mommies, and our aunties all look very angry.” Hoshiko says. 

The children who don’t have mothers all call Keiko and the other mothers their ‘aunties’. These children know that the ten women are not their ‘real’ mothers so it just feels a little strange to them to call the ten women ‘mommy’, like their other brothers and sisters. 

Tsukiko just shakes her head. “Yeah, but I wonder why. What could Kazuto and Akirou have done to make them so angry?” 

Hikari just shakes her own head. “I dunno no, but I guess we are about to find out.” 

Akirou and Kazuto are now standing directly in front of Sasuke. Sasuke is looking at the two boys with a deathly stare. “Now, the two of you have some  _ serious _ explaining to do.” Sasuke says with a hard and deathly voice. He is trying not to yell but he is very tempted to. “Why did Isamu go  _ flying _ out the window?!” 

The six girls all gasp and look at each other again. Their baby brother went flying out a window?! How did that happen?! However, due to the way their uncle is looking at Kazuto and Akirou, the two girls have a pretty good idea as to  _ whose _ fault it is. 

Kazuto and Akirou both slowly gulp together and share a terrified glance. They can tell their uncle is  _ extremely _ angry with them. 

After a few minutes, Kazuto finally speaks. “We were just trying to find something fun to do uncle Sasuke.” Kazuto says with a trembling voice. 

Akirou gulps. “It was an accident,  _ honestly _ . We didn’t mean for it to happen!” Akirou says with an equally trembling voice.  

Sasuke growls and narrows his eyes. “MEAN FOR WHAT TO HAPPEN?!” Sasuke finally screams. “WHAT DID THE TWO OF YOU DO?!” 

Akirou and Kazuto both quake with absolute fear. Kazuto gulps and speaks. “We went into the playroom and Isamu was in this cool looking seat that was attached to the ceiling with these stretchy cords.” Kazuto finally says. 

Sasuke blinks a few times. Kazuto must be talking about Isamu’s bouncy seat. Then, Sasuke’s eyes widen with horror as a mental image finally comes to mind. Did the two brats actually  _ launch _ their baby brother right out of his bouncy seat?!  

Nearby, Keiko and the other mothers all gasp with horror as a similar image enters their minds as well. Keiko is especially horrified. Kazuto is  _ her _ son after all. Her  _ own son _ almost killed his baby half-brother. 

After a few tense moments, Keiko finally sighs. “Kazuto…,” Keiko says with a very tense voice. “That was Isamu’s bouncy seat and it is  _ not _ a toy!” 

Kazuto blinks a few times and then narrows his eyes. “So that’s what is called then?” Kazuto asks. “A bouncy seat?” 

Tamiko, who is standing next to Keiko, just nods stiffly. “Yes, and it is not a toy.” Tamiko says with her own quiet yet tense sounding voice. “Aside from being entertaining for babies, bouncing also serves a special purpose. When babies bounce, they build up strength in their legs, which they will eventually need in order to take their first steps. A bouncy seat is supposed to keep a baby upright and on their legs so that they can bounce.”  

A few tense moments go by. It is Masaru who finally speaks. The young boy is standing nearby, close to Akirou and Kazuto. Haruto, Yuuta, and Raiden also stand close by. “Wait, so a bouncy seat actually helps babies to learn to  _ walk _ ?” Masaru asks with narrowed eyes. 

Hitomi, who is standing a few feet away from Keiko and Tamiko, lets out a sigh. “Yes, you can say that.” Hitomi says with a quiet voice. 

Sasuke narrows his eyes. “Now…,” Sasuke says slowly with a deathly voice. “Tell me exactly  _ what _ you did to Isamu’s bouncy seat?  _ How _ exactly did Isamu go flying out of it? Did one of you pull it?!” 

Kazuto gulps. “I...I saw that Isamu was having so much fun bouncing in it.” Kazuto says as he begins trying to explain. “I grabbed the cords and just started bouncing him in his seat. Isamu was having fun, so I just kept on bouncing him.” 

Kazuto then looks at Akirou with a small glare. “But Akirou decided that he wanted to bounce the seat too, and he literally grabbed the cords. But I didn’t want to stop bouncing Isamu!” Kazuto says with a small yet angry voice. 

Sasuke then narrows his eyes. Did Kazuto and Akirou get into a  _ scuffle _ while they were holding onto Isamu’s bouncy seat? “JUST TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED!” Sasuke practically yells. 

Kazuto gulps. Akirou does as well. “Well, we were fighting over the seat and we just ended up pulling it back and back.” Akirou tries to explain. “Well, we tripped...and we let go.” 

Sasuke’s eyes widen immediately. He can now vividly imagine what must have taken place upstairs in the babies playroom. 

_ Kazuto and Akirou both hold onto the cords of Isamu’s bouncy seat. The two boys yell and scream as they fight for control of the bouncy seat, pulling it back as they fight. Then, the two boys trip, letting go of the bouncy seat as they fall to the ground. Isamu’s bouncy seat is thrust forward, causing baby Isamu to go flying out the bouncy seat...and out the window. _

Sasuke rubs his temples in frustration. Baby Isamu very  _ nearly _ died and all because his eldest brothers got into a silly little spat. Due to Akirou and Kazuto’s argument, baby Isamu was practically _ launched _ out of his bouncy seat like a rock in a slingshot. Out of everything Akirou and Kazuto have done, this is by far the  _ worst _ . 

“YOU’RE SAYING THAT YOUR BABY BROTHER WENT FLYING OUT OF THE WINDOW BECAUSE THE TWO OF YOU GOT INTO AN ARGUMENT?!” Sasuke screams. 

Kazuto and Akirou both gulp and look at each other. Then they both frown as they point accusingly to one another. “You should not have tried to take the cords from me!” Kazuto exclaims angrily as he points at Akirou. 

“No, you should have just let me have them in the first place!” Akirou shoots back. 

Sasuke grits his teeth in anger. Do the two boys truly not understand the severity of the situation? Sasuke quickly grabs both boys by the fronts of their shirts and pulls, forcing the two boys to look him in the eyes. “THE TWO OF YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE EVEN BEEN UP THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE! AND THE TWO OF YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE EVEN PULLED ON THE CORDS TO BEGIN WITH! DO THE TWO OF YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF I HADN’T CAUGHT ISAMU?!”Sasuke yells. 

Kazuto and Akirou tremble with absolute fear. Sasuke growls at Kazuto and Akirou’s lack of words. Sasuke literally shakes both boys. “ISAMU WOULD HAVE HIT THE GROUND, THAT’S WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED! HE WOULD HAVE LITERALLY GONE  _ SPLAT _ LIKE AN EGG!” 

Kazuto and Akirou both tremble as their uncle’s words finally sink in. They almost  _ killed _ their baby brother. They are both  _ very bad _ boys indeed.  

Sasuke growls and shakes Kazuto and Akirou some more. “THE TWO OF YOU ALMOST KILLED YOUR BABY BROTHER! WHAT DO THE TWO OF YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELVES?!”Sasuke screams.  

Akirou trembles. “We’re sorry.” Akirou manages to say with a shaky voice. 

Kazuto trembles as well. “Honestly...we are.” Kazuto manages to say. 

Sasuke growls some more and shakes Kazuto and Akirou again. “SORRY IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH!” Sasuke yells. 

After a minute, Sasuke finally sighs and let’s go of his nephews’ shirts. He is tired of yelling and screaming. Besides, he is very sore after his day. “I need to go lie down. All this yelling has given me a headache and I am sore.” 

Without another word, Sasuke begins walking away. Kazuto trembles and looks over at his mother. Keiko is looking at her son with eyes full of horror and disappointment. All of the other mothers are looking at the two boys with eyes full of equal horror and disappointment. 

“Kazuto, all I can say is that I am  _ very _ disappointed in the both of you. And  _ you _ especially.” Keiko finally says. 

“Mommy, I am really sorry.” Kazuto says as his eyes begin to water a little. “I  _ truly _ am.” 

Keiko just sighs and hangs her head down. “The two of you need to go to your room and think about what you did.” Keiko finally says. “Just go.” 

Akirou and Kazuto both merely nod and begin walking towards the oldest children’s house. Their six wide eyed and trembling sisters, who are standing in the doorway just step back as the two boys approach. Without another word, Kazuto and Akirou walk sullenly into the house. Keiko finally looks at Ikeri, who is sitting on the ground and hugging baby Isamu to her chest. Ikeri sobs as she rocks back and forth. Baby Isamu just coos happily within his mother's embrace. 

“I am so sorry, Ikeri.” Keiko says with a voice full of remorse. “Is Isamu truly alright?” 

Ikeri manages to look at Keiko. “Yes, he doesn’t have a scratch on him.” Ikeri says with a shaky voice as she continues to rock Isamu. “He is  _ alive _ and that is all that matters to me.”  

While the two women talk, Tamiko looks at Haruto, Yuuta, Masaru and Raiden. Tamiko just frowns. “And as for the four of you, you should not have been up in the babies playroom  _ either _ .” Tamiko says with a tense voice. “And you all saw Kazuto and Akirou fighting and pulling Isamu’s bouncy seat. Why didn’t any of you try to stop them? Or at the very least...come and get one of us?” 

Haruto, Yuuta, Masaru and Raiden just look at one another. It is finally Masaru who speaks. “We knew it was bad, but we didn’t know Isamu would go  _ flying _ out of his seat. We just didn’t think about it.” 

Tamiko just sighs. “While Keiko, Hitomi and I all prepare dinner, I want the four of you to sit in the kitchen so that we can keep an eye on you. That way we know the four of you are not getting into any mischief. Do you understand?” 

After a few minutes, Haruto, Yuuta, Masaru and Raiden all hang their heads down. “Yes.” All four boys say at the same time. 

Without another word, the four boys head inside the house. Hikari, Tsukiko, Reika, Sayuri, Hoshiko and Kaida all watch their brothers walk into the house. The six girls tremble a little as they look at their uncle’s house. Their uncle’s reaction terrified them to the core, but they now understand the severity of what occurred while they were inside, playing with their dolls. Akirou and Kazuto nearly killed their baby half-brother. Their uncle Sasuke’s reaction was justified. 

After a few minutes, Hikari just huffs and looks at her five sisters. “Can all of you believe that Akirou and Kazuto almost killed our baby brother?” Hikari asks. There is disbelief yet horror in her small voice.  

Reika just shakes her head. “Unbelievable.” Reika says with an equally horrified voice. 

Tsukiko just blinks. “It sounds like it was an accident, but still...our baby brother almost  _ died _ .” Tsukiko says. “That is  _ unforgivable _ .”

* * *

Sasuke just looks up at the ceiling to his bedroom. It is nighttime now. The little monsters are all in bed. All is now silent, which has given Sasuke time to reflect on the day’s events. 

Sasuke blinks a few times. All he can feel right now is anger, shock and  _ horror _ . Akirou and Kazuto... _ very nearly _ killed their own baby half-brother. And their excuse was that they got into a silly little  _ scuffle _ . Akirou and Kazuto’s naughtiness almost cost Isamu his little life today. 

After a few minutes, Sasuke then blinks and just turns onto his side. It was so lucky that he was there, right at that very moment to catch Isamu. If Isamu had gone flying out the window a few minutes sooner or even later, the outcome probably would have been very different. If Isamu had gone flying out the window any sooner, Sasuke would have probably not been able to save him. And...if baby Isamu had gone flying out the window any later, Sasuke probably would have been in his house. Sasuke probably would have heard Ikeri’s scream, and the deafening thud of Isamu hitting the ground. Sasuke would then have had to watch Ikeri cry herself into hysterics as she knelt over the bloodied and broken body of her baby. 

Sasuke blinks and just turns back onto his back. Even though the brats can be absolute monsters at times, Sasuke doesn’t truly wish for them to _die_. No...they are Uchiha’s, his flesh and blood. They are the future of the Uchiha clan. The clan that he _lost_ years ago, but that has now been revived. However, Sasuke knows that his clan will not truly be able to _thrive_ unless the little brats reach adulthood and start producing little Uchiha’s of their own, even though the very thought fills him with dread. Even though Sasuke despises the little brats, he doesn’t truly wish for his clan to go _extinct._ And besides, Sasuke has promised himself that he can never bring himself to marry and have children of his own. This means that the little brats are the only ones who can continue the Uchiha bloodline after he and that _man_ are eventually gone. Without those little brats, the Uchiha clan doesn’t have a future. 

Sasuke then looks at his hands. Even during the days when he used to contemplate killing the brats, Sasuke would stop himself, reminding himself that Itachi killed their fellow Uchiha clansmen. And if Sasuke himself kills any of the little brats, then he would be no better than the monster who destroyed his life to begin with. Sasuke himself knows that no matter how awful the little brats are, they are still his flesh and blood, and he could never bring himself to  _ intentionally _ kill them. Maybe if they somehow made him so mad that he  _ accidentally _ throttled them to death in his rage, that would be one thing. But...to kill them in  _ cold blood _ is another. 

Sasuke blinks as he looks up at the ceiling. And besides, Sasuke just doesn’t know if he could actually  _ bring _ himself to carry out a mass killing like Itachi did. Even though the massacre happened many years ago, and he was still very young at the time, Sasuke will never get those horrible images out of his head. Sasuke closes his eyes. So much blood had been spilled that night. Sasuke can still remember the smell and the sight of the blood that night. The blood covering the walls and streets. The bloodied bodies of his clansmen laying in the streets. Men, women, teenagers, children, elderly and even little babies and pregnant women alike, all slain in cold blood. Sasuke vividly remembers his aunt and uncle, lying beside each other, in pools of their own blood. His great-aunt, lying face down beside the door of her house. Sasuke remembers the sight of one of his teenage cousins, lying beside the corpses of his parents and little siblings. The teens mother, holding the bloodied bundle of blankets that contained the corpse of the teen’s infant sister. Sasuke’s pregnant cousin, arms wrapped protectively around her abdomen, trying to protect the life within her. A life that would never be. Sasuke clenches his fists. The sight of his parents' corpses, both lying on top of each other was almost too much for him to bear. As Sasuke stood inside the room that held his parents' corpses, he was almost certain that he would be next. Yet...Itachi let him live. Even today, Sasuke still asks himself  _ why _ . 

After a few minutes, Sasuke opens his eyes and looks at his hands. The memory of all that bloodshed still haunts his dreams sometimes. Sasuke blinks a few times. The memory of that night always makes Sasuke ask himself one crucial question. Could he  _ truly _ bring himself to do that to his own nieces and nephews? Sasuke blinks as he looks at his hands. Could he truly bring himself to start a  _ second  _ Uchiha clan massacre? Could he truly  _ butcher _ the little ones in cold blood, just as Itachi did with their clan members? 

Sasuke blinks a few times. Whenever he does mentally ask himself that question, he always comes to the same conclusion. No...he would never do that to his nieces and nephews, no matter how much they annoy him. He could never slit their tiny throats and leave them to bleed out. Or run a kunai or a katana through their small fragile bodies. Or throw shuriken and kunai at them as they run away in terror. He could never kill them as they sleep  _ sweetly _ on their futons. And...the babies? No matter how much Sasuke hates changing their dirty diapers or hearing their loud wails, he knows he could never bring himself to kill them either. He could never stab them with kunai’s or a katana, and then watch their tiny bodies bleed out. He could never stab them in their sleep and leave them to bleed out in their cribs. Sasuke then blinks and turns onto his side. Even if the little brats act like little monsters, Sasuke just can’t bring himself to  _ butcher _ them in cold blood. He is  _ not _ Itachi. The little brats are Uchiha’s, just like himself and Itachi. However, Sasuke soon shakes his head. No...Itachi doesn’t deserve to be called an Uchiha, especially not after what he did. 

Sasuke then blinks a few times as he looks out his window. Sasuke also keeps telling himself that if Itachi was here and the little brats got on his nerves, then Itachi would more than likely kill them without a second thought, regardless of the fact that they are his  _ own _ children. 

After a few more minutes, Sasuke just blinks as he looks at the moon. Even if he just wants the kids to disappear, he doesn’t really want them to  _ die _ . Sasuke just wants some peace and quiet. Peace and quiet is hard to find when you share a clan compound with forty-six children. Sasuke would be content and happy if the children could live somewhere else within the village. Sasuke would then have the compound to himself. But no...the village council says that the little hellions  _ have _ to live in the compound with  _ him _ . Sasuke grits his teeth. Sometimes he just  _ hates _ the village council so much. 

After a few minutes, Sasuke turns back over onto his back. He is now looking at the ceiling again. Sasuke closes his eyes. Sasuke may dislike caring for the little brats, but they are still his nieces and nephews. They are the future of his clan. And despite the little brats being Itachi’s legacy, they are also the legacy of his dearly departed parents, Fugaku and Mikoto. Sasuke fondly remembers his mother. Her sweet smile and tender loving voice. Her tender touch and her shining eyes. And...his father? Even though the man could be very gruff and cold, there was no doubt in Sasuke’s mind that his father did truly  _ love _ him. Sasuke blinks as the memories fade. The little brats may be Itachi’s offspring, but they are also his parents’  _ grandchildren _ . Sasuke opens his eyes as he thinks about his parents some more. His parents gave life to him, and cared for and protected him during the nearly seven years that he lived with them. Sasuke figures that he owes it to his parents to make sure that they will continue to have a living legacy. 

Sasuke closes his eyes. The little brats are the future of the Uchiha clan and they are  _ his parents _ ' legacy. That is why no matter how much Sasuke dislikes the little brats, he will always at least try to protect and save their little lives if need be. In the future, when the brats are older, and when he finally defeats and kills Itachi, Sasuke shall retreat into the background. The kids will run their own lives within the compound and Sasuke shall live his own life. However, Sasuke will still be around. He can live a peaceful life, but still be around for  _ his _ clan. He can be a  _ silent protector _ for his clan, always ready to intervene when something catastrophic happens.  

Sasuke then closes his eyes as memories fill his head. He turns in his bed and looks out at the moon again. 

Unfortunately...this is not the  _ first _ time one of the little brats has  _ very nearly _ died. Sasuke blinks and looks at his hands. There have been so many incidents over the last two years that Sasuke has lost count. But there are a handful of ones that stick out the most. And almost every time, it has been one of the boys. And...almost every incident was somehow caused either by Kazuto or Akirou, or even both boys. 

Sasuke blinks as one incident comes to mind. There was one day that Kazuto, Akirou and Haruto were playing in one of the houses. Kazuto and Akirou were three and Haruto was two and a half. The boys managed to get into one of the bathrooms and for whatever reason, they decided to play with the bathtub. They managed to turn the water on and on that day...Keiko had forgotten to take the plug out. Then, Haruto managed to climb into the bathtub while it was filling up with water and accidentally knocked himself unconscious. By chance, Sasuke was passing by the bathroom when he heard the water running. By the time he entered the bathroom and reached the bathtub, the water was just about to overtake Haruto’s mouth. Sasuke had to literally snatch Haruto out of the bathtub to keep him from drowning that day. It is kind of ironic though that the three boys decided to play with the bathtub when they all  _ hate _ baths.  

Sasuke blinks as another incident comes to mind. On that particular day. Kazuto, Akirou, Haruto, Yuuta, and Masaru were playing outside. Kazuto and Akirou were three and half, Haruto and Yuuta were both three, and Masaru was just under three. The boys came across a big black spider. For some reason the boys were fascinated by it, and not realizing just how extremely  _ venomous _ the spider was, they began trying to play with it. Sasuke just happened to be nearby and he eventually saw what was happening. Once Sasuke realized just what kind of spider it was, he tried to intervene. However, before he could smash the spider...the spider  _ bit _ Masaru on the hand. After Sasuke smashed the spider, he snatched up Masaru and ran as fast as he could to the hospital. By the time Sasuke rushed through the doors, Masaru was already starting to convulse in his arms due to the venom coursing through his small body. It took  _ ten _ vials of antivenom to save Masaru’s life that day. The doctors told Sasuke that if he had arrived five minutes later, then it would have been too late. However, Masaru learned his lesson, because the child is  _ positively terrified _ of spiders now. 

Then, there was one particularly scary incident that happened just six months after Kazuto and Hikari arrived at the compound with their mothers. One day, Sasuke had to babysit and Kazuto somehow managed to get a hold of a lighter. Kazuto subsequently set one of the tatami mats on fire, which happened to be right next to baby Himeko’s bassinet. Sasuke literally had to snatch the baby out of her bassinet to keep her from being burned alive. Thankfully, Sasuke managed to put the fire out before it could spread and hurt any of the other children. 

Then, when Kazuto and Akirou were three, baby Benjiro had just arrived at the compound. For some reason, when the two boys went out playing, they decided to  _ take _ the baby with them. Kazuto and Akirou managed to sneak the baby boy out of the nursery without anyone noticing. That day a huge lightning storm was forming to the south of Konoha. When Sasuke and the mothers realized that baby Benjiro was missing along with Kazuto and Akirou, they immediately put the pieces together. However, just as Sasuke was about to go out searching for the two naughty boys and the missing baby, Kazuto and Akirou returned...without baby Benjiro. Apparently the two boys  _ abandoned _ the baby after they got tired of carrying him around. Sasuke was very mad but he didn’t have time to yell at the boys. The storm was approaching and he needed to find baby Benjiro. Sasuke ran around Konoha, trying to find his missing baby nephew. Eventually, Sasuke found the baby in the forest, under a tree. Sasuke then subsequently had to run back to the compound because the storm had just reached Konoha. 

Sasuke, with baby Benjiro in his arms...was almost  _ struck _ down by a bolt of lightning that day. And since baby Benjiro was in Sasuke’s arms, the baby would have most  _ definitely _ died along with Sasuke. Sasuke blinks a few times as he looks at the ceiling. Despite his dislike of the child, whenever Sasuke thinks of what could have happened to both him and baby Benjiro that day, he is filled with horror. The very thought of his then baby nephew lying dead in his  _ own _ dead arms that day, actually  _ horrifies _ Sasuke to no end. 

Sasuke closes his eyes. He has just had bad luck with storms in general. There was one instance Sasuke and the kids were caught out in a strong windstorm, and Sasuke had to save Yashiro from being crushed by a falling tree. When Kazuto, Hikari, and Akirou were all two, a small and weak tornado struck the village one evening. Most tornadoes that occur within the Land of Fire are generally small and weak, yet they can cause damage, and at the very least...suck up very small children. When the tornado was spotted outside the village, the guards sounded the alarm. Sasuke and the mothers had to try and get the hyperactive toddlers and babies to a safe room. They especially had trouble rounding up Kazuto and Akirou, who kept running around. And due to the confusion, Hoshiko, who was just barely a year old, was  _ forgotten _ in her crib. When Sasuke realized that the baby had been forgotten, he had to rush back to the nursery to get her. However, just as he reached the nursery, the tornado passed outside, blowing the windows out. 

Baby Hoshiko...was almost  _ sucked _ out of the nursery that night by the tornado. Sasuke literally had to grab one of baby Hoshiko’s tiny legs and then literally pull her tiny dangling body out of the nursery, and subsequently to safety. If Sasuke had come any later, baby Hoshiko would have been  _ gone _ . Being hit by flying debris and then being dropped on the ground would have  _ most likely _ killed little Hoshiko. Or at the very least, she would have been  _ seriously _ injured. 

Sasuke closes his eyes. These incidents do stick out in his mind a lot. However, of all these incidents, none have been quite as bad as what took place today. Kazuto and Akirou’s terrible behavior went  _ too _ far today. Their silly little scuffle almost cost their baby brother his life. 

Sasuke then growls. It just seems that out of all the older children, Kazuto and Akirou are the  _ worst _ behaved, which is very bad considering that they are the  _ eldest _ boys. The younger boys do look up to Kazuto and Akirou. If Kazuto and Akirou won’t behave, then how can anyone expect the younger boys to behave? Kazuto and Akirou  _ need _ to be responsible. They need to be good role models for their little brothers and even their little sisters. 

Sasuke closes his eyes as another thought crosses his mind. Since Kazuto is the eldest of all the children,  he will in fact be the  _ leader _ of the clan once Sasuke is gone. But, with the boy's current behavior, could he truly lead a clan? And what of the clan when Sasuke is eventually dead? Sasuke has accepted that death is unavoidable, and that he will indeed die one day and join his parents in the afterlife. If Kazuto doesn’t learn any responsibility as an adult, how can he lead the clan without Sasuke’s guidance? 

Sasuke sighs as he thinks of something else. The kids behavior may make them unable to graduate from the academy and become ninjas. And if they do...they probably wouldn’t last long out in the big wide world. And how could they not die on a dangerous mission? Sasuke and the mothers literally have to save the kids from their own stupidity...and sometimes each other’s stupidity. And Sasuke isn’t always gonna be around to save them when something happens. Eventually he may be called away on a mission outside of the village that may mean he is gone for days at a time. Seriously, the kids need to  _ grow up _ .  

Sasuke then blinks as he thinks of the future. If the kids could just grow up and act more responsible, then maybe...just maybe Sasuke could bring himself to genuinely  _ like _ them. However, that just seems like a hopeless dream right now. 

Sasuke eventually sighs. He does know one thing for sure. The behavior of all the children, especially that of Kazuto and Akirou, is starting to get _ out of control _ .  _ Something _ must be done about the brats' terrible behavior. But...what can be done? 

After a few minutes, Sasuke finally rubs his temples. He isn’t one to ask for advice, but now seems like a good time to do so. Eventually, Sasuke takes a deep breath as he turns back over onto his side. Tomorrow, when he goes to train with team Seven, he shall ask Kakashi for advice on how to deal with the little brats’ behavior. Surely his sensei can give him some advice.  _ Right? _


	13. Much needed advice

Sasuke awakens to sunlight hitting his face. Sasuke then looks around his bed. His nieces and nephews didn’t surround his bed this morning, which is kinda nice. However, Sasuke can guess why his oldest nieces and nephews did not wake him up this morning. His angry screaming yesterday must have terrified them all to the core. Even though Sasuke’s yelling was directed at Kazuto and Akirou, the other boys were standing nearby, and thus they heard Sasuke’s screaming fit. And Sasuke was well aware that his six oldest nieces were watching as well. The six girls must have been equally as terrified as Kazuto and Akirou and the rest of the boys. However, that doesn’t matter right now. Sasuke must get up and get done with his morning chores before he heads out to train with the rest of team seven. Then, Sasuke can ask Kakashi some much needed advice. 

Sasuke finally rolls out of bed. He grimaces as his body hurts from all of the hard work he did yesterday. His arms are especially sore from the unexpected strain he had to put on them yesterday. Perhaps trying to stretch them a little will help. 

Sasuke begins slowly stretching out his sore muscles. After Sasuke is done he sighs. His muscles do feel less tense now. Well, it is time to begin the day now.  

Sasuke quickly grabs an outfit from his closet. He walks out of his bedroom to the bathroom in order to get dressed for the day.

* * *

Sasuke sighs as he reaches team seven’s meeting spot. Breakfast at the oldest children’s house was kinda silent, which was nice. Kazuto and Akirou were also silent all morning. The two boys wouldn’t even look at Sasuke. The kids didn’t even pester Sasuke this morning, which was even nicer. 

After a few minutes, Sasuke finally reaches Team Seven’s meeting spot. Sakura and Naruto are already waiting for Kakashi. Sakura turns and sees Sasuke walking up. “Wow Sasuke, you’re here a little earlier than usual.” Sakura says with a raised brow. 

Sasuke narrows his eyes. “Am I?” Sasuke asks. 

“Yeah.” Sakura says. “Is something up?” 

Sasuke sighs. He realizes that due to the kids not pestering him this morning, he probably did get out of the compound a little sooner than he usually does. “Yeah...you can say that.” Sasuke says with a tense voice. “You would not believe what happened after we got back from our mission yesterday. I’ll wait till Kakashi gets here to tell you. I actually need some advice.” 

Naruto raises a brow. “Really, you asking for advice?” Naruto asks with a teasing voice. “That is so unlike you, Sasuke.” 

Sasuke growls. “It’s not like I want to have to ask for advice. It’s just...I don’t know what else to do.” Sasuke says. 

Sakura raises a brow. Something major must have happened yesterday. Sasuke just seems very troubled by something. What on earth could have happened after they got back from their mission yesterday? Just then, Sakura hears a noise above the bridge. She looks up. It is Kakashi. 

Kakashi smiles underneath his mask as he crouches on top of the bridge. He is holding the book that he always reads. “Good morning…,” Kakashi says as he greets his students. “Sorry I am late. It’s just I had so much to do this morning, and I just lost track of time.” 

Sakura and Naruto just frown at their sensei’s excuse. Sasuke just blinks as Kakashi flits down to the ground. Sasuke sighs. “Kakashi, I really need some advice on how to deal with the little brats. You would not believe what happened yesterday after we got home from our mission.” Sasuke says with a tense voice. 

Kakashi’s eyes widen a little. “Hm...interesting.” Kakashi mumbles as he looks up from his book. “Tell me what happened yesterday after we completed our mission.” 

Sasuke takes a deep breath. “Kazuto and Akirou...sent Isamu  _ flying _ out a window. Luckily, I was there to catch him before he hit the ground.” 

All goes silent for a minute. Sakura just gasps and covers her mouth. Naruto just blinks at Sasuke’s words. “Say what?!” Naruto asks with disbelief and shock. 

Kakashi’s eyes widen. Then his eyes narrow as he puts away his book. “Hm...very interesting indeed. Was it an accident...or  _ intentional _ ?” 

Sasuke sighs. “It was an accident but that is not the point.” Sasuke says. “The point is Isamu very nearly died due to Kazuto and Akirou’s stupidity.” 

Kakashi just blinks a few times. “How exactly did it happen?” Kakashi asks with a voice full of interest. 

Sasuke sighs, trying to think of where to begin. “Well, Yukiko and Ikeri left Isamu and the other babies to play in the upstairs playroom while they did some chores. Yukiko left the window open to let a breeze in. Apparently, Kazuto, Akirou, Haruto, Yuuta, Masaru and Raiden went into the babies playroom without anyone knowing. Isamu was in his bouncy seat and Kazuto decided to bounce the seat. However, Akirou decided that he wanted to bounce Isamu as well, and Kazuto and Akirou got into a squabble. During the fight, they pulled the seat back. Then, they tripped and let go. Isamu went flying out of his seat, and out the window.” 

Sakura and Naruto just look at each other. Kakashi just rubs his chin thoughtfully. 

Sasuke growls and begins rubbing his temples. “I don’t know what to do.” Sasuke says with frustration clear in his voice “The brats’ are getting out of control. Kazuto and Akirou especially! But...I don’t really know what to do. I just need some advice.” 

After a few minutes, Kakashi just sighs. “Well, all I can say is that you need to instill more discipline and responsibility into the children’s lives.” Kakashi says. “Now, you just need to figure out how to do that. Tell me, what is your day like everyday?” 

Sasuke just blinks. “Horrible!” Sasuke says. “The oldest brats wake me up by jumping on me every morning. Well, they didn’t today. I scared them because I screamed so loudly at Kazuto and Akirou yesterday.” 

Kakashi raises a brow. “What time do the kids usually wake you up?” Kakashi asks. 

Sasuke grumbles. “Around six am. And I am lucky if I get to bed by eleven thirty at night. Not only am I frustrated...I am also exhausted! At the most, I only get seven hours of sleep every night! I can sometimes get a nap when the brats take their own naps but that is very rare.” 

Kakashi’s eyes widen. Sakura gasps. “Oh my…,” Sakura says. “I have read that people of our age group should get at least nine to eleven hours of sleep per night. No wonder you are so frustrated all the time. You are sleep deprived!” 

Sasuke grumbles. “Then, at 6:45 I have to go over to the infant's house to help with the babies. I change the boys diapers, get them dressed, and they cry the entire time. And it just seems like Mitsuro always tries to pee on me. Giving them their bottles isn’t that bad, but giving them their solids is another story. I try to get bibs on them and they cry and squirm. Then, I give Orenji and Notarou their solids. I have to use both hands! And sometimes...they  _ vomit _ on me.” 

Naruto just snickers at the word  _ vomit.  _ Sakura just hits Naruto on the head. Naruto whines as he clutches his head. 

Sasuke then takes a deep breath before he continues. “Then, one by one, I go over to each house and help give the older children their breakfast. It is absolutely horrible! They scream, cry, and wail. The little ones tug on my legs and my shirt and scream at me until they are finally given food! I just can’t take it!” 

Sasuke takes another deep breath. “Then, I get ready to train with the three of you, and the oldest brats don’t leave me alone. They jump up and down around, and scream ‘Play with us’. It’s so annoying!” Sasuke says through gritted teeth. 

Sasuke breathes in deep. “Then, when lunch rolls around, it is the same thing as breakfast. The brats cry, scream and wail until they are given food. Oh, and don’t get me started on naptime. Many times I have to chase them down just to get them on their futons! They wail and cry until they fall asleep. After their naps are done with, they return to pestering me.” 

Sasuke just blinks and takes another deep breath. “Dinnertime is the same as breakfast and lunch. I have to change the babies before dinner, give them bottles, and feed them solids. With the older children, it is the same thing with breakfast and lunch. They scream and cry until they are given food! Oh and when they ask for seconds, we have to refill plates, and the brats scream until their plates are refilled! Oh, and cleaning up after dinner is such a hassle as well.” 

Sasuke takes another deep breath. “After dinner, it is bathtime. The babies cry when I take their clothes and diapers off, and they cry in the sink or bathtub. The older children fight and fight! Sometimes, they even try to jump out of the tub! Bedtime is also horrible. We struggle to get their teeth brushed. And most try to run away when we put them on their futons. They cry and cry until they fall asleep, which disturbs the ones who do go to sleep willingly. It is madness. I just can’t take it anymore!” 

Sasuke blinks and takes another deep breath. “Even after the brats are in bed, we still have work to do. We have to clean up the playrooms which are always disasters!” 

Sasuke sighs and finally looks at his sensei and teammates. “And there you have it. That is what I go through on a daily basis.” 

Kakashi’s eyes are wide. Sakura’s eyes are also wide. Even Naruto’s eyes are wide. The three of them never knew it was this  _ bad _ . 

Then, after a few minutes, Kakashi steps back and rubs his chin thoughtfully. “Well, all I can say is that you need to put your foot down. And that goes for the mothers as well. All of you need to teach these kids  _ responsibility _ .” 

Sasuke blinks a few times. “ _ Responsibility _ ? How can I do that?” Sasuke asks. 

“Do the oldest children do any chores?” Kakashi asks. “Do the oldest children do anything to help out?” 

Sasuke narrows his eyes. “Actually...no. All they do is scream, cry, whine, eat, sleep, and play. Could we really give them chores? What could we even trust them with?” Sasuke asks. 

“There are a lot of things that the oldest ones can do to help out.” Kakashi says. “Let me see what I can think of.” 

After a few minutes, Kakashi just smiles. “You know what, we shall take the day off today.” Kakashi says. “I would like to see the compound and where exactly the little tykes sleep, eat and play. Maybe if I see exactly how the houses function, I can come up with solutions to your problems.” 

Sasuke’s eyes widen considerably. “Really?” Sasuke asks. “You would do that?” 

Kakashi just smiles. “Of course.” Kakashi says. 

Sasuke sighs. “Alright, but I will warn you, the kids can be well...hyper. Even the littlest ones.”

* * *

Kakashi’s eyes are wide as he looks at the scene before him. Children run around everywhere. The kids giggle and laugh as they run around and play. Outdoor toys such as balls fly everywhere. One almost hits Sasuke. However, Sasuke dodges just in time. Sasuke sighs. “I told you they were all hyper!” 

“Hm...yes indeed.” Kakashi says as he rubs his chin. 

Sakura and Naruto stand nearby. Sakura’s eyes are wide as she watches the hyperactive toddlers run around. Naruto just smiles. “Aw, they are having so much fun!” Naruto says. 

The kids all hear Naruto’s voice and turn. They drop their toys and begin shouting with joy. “NARUTO!” All of the kids scream as they run up to the group. 

Within seconds, the kids surround Naruto and begin jumping up and down around him. Sasuke just watches the scene, glad that he is not the one being mobbed by the brats. The kids do really like Naruto as he gladly plays with them. And...he also gives them candy, which annoys Sasuke to no end. The sugar just makes the kids even more hyper than they already are. 

Naruto just smiles and pats each child on the head. “Hey kids!” Naruto says. “Great to see you! Want some candy?!” 

Sasuke’s eyes widen instantly. “NO!” Sasuke practically yells. “No candy today! And Kazuto and Akirou especially don’t deserve any. Not after yesterday.” 

“AWWWW!” The kids all whine. 

Naruto just tries to cheer up the kids. “Come on kids, we can still have some fun.” Naruto says. “Why don’t we all go to the playground in the compound that you like?!” 

The kids all smile at the mention of the compound's playground. “YAY, PLAYGROUND!” The kids all cheer. 

Without further ado, the kids begin following Naruto to the playground. Kakashi then leans down to Sakura. “Go with them. Make sure that Naruto behaves himself and doesn’t give them any sweets.” Kakashi whispers to his female student. 

Sakura just nods in reply. “Of course Kakashi sensei.” Sakura whispers back. 

Without another word, Sakura follows after her blond teammate and the kids. This leaves Kakashi and Sasuke standing in the street. The mothers soon approach the pair. They all heard the kids shout so they came to see what was up. Keiko sighs. “Kakashi…,” Keiko says respectfully to the jonin. “What do we owe this pleasure?” 

Kakashi smiles. “Oh, I am just here to see if I can somehow help you all get control of the little tykes.” Kakashi says. “I would like to see the children’s houses so I can come up with some solutions for you.” 

* * *

Sasuke and the mothers watch as Kakashi inspects the youngest infants playroom. Yukiko is rocking baby Yamiko in a rocking chair. Imari and Osamu are playing on the floor. Kakashi just looks around some more and then looks at Sasuke and the other mothers. “I only see three babies here. Where are the rest?” 

“In another room being looked after by Ikeri.” Keiko says. 

Kakashi narrows his eyes. “And why is that?” Kakashi asks. “Wouldn’t it make sense for Ikeri and Yukiko to look after all of the infants together?” 

Sasuke and the mothers all look at one another. “Well, I guess we never really thought about it.” Tamiko says. 

“Here is what I suggest then…,” Kakashi says. “Find a good room and use it as a playroom for  _ all _ of the infants. And what about their sleeping situation? What is that like?” 

Sasuke just blinks a few times. “Yamiko sleeps in Yukiko’s room, and Isamu sleeps with Ikeri.” Sasuke says. “The other babies are divided into a boy’s nursery and a girl’s nursery.” 

“That isn’t really practical either.” Kakashi explains. “It means you are having to go back and forth between two rooms. I suggest putting all of the babies into a nursery together.” 

Sasuke looks down. “I always thought it would make sense to have separate nurseries for the girls and boys. But...now that you mention it, it does sound a little impractical.” 

Kakashi smiles. “And that will help in getting the oldest kids involved in caring for the babies.” Kakashi says. “The oldest children can do simple tasks, as long as they are supervised of course. They can fetch things such as clothes, diapers, bottles, toys, blankets, and all sorts of things. And as long as they are supervised, they can play with the babies.” 

Kakashi then steps back to think for a minute. “I am just wondering,” Kakashi says as he taps his chin. “Do the oldest girls play with  _ baby dolls _ ?” 

Sasuke and the mothers all look at one another. “Well, they do actually.” Tamiko says. “A  _ lot _ now that I think about it.” 

Kakashi smiles. “Excellent, as long as the girls are interested in baby dolls, then they should be able to grasp the concept of caring for the infants. Who knows, they may actually enjoy it.” 

Sasuke just blinks a few times. He can’t actually imagine his nieces enjoying taking care of the babies. Then again, they won’t actually be changing dirty diapers or even feeding the babies. They will just be doing small things to help. But hey, even little things like fetching supplies could be a big help. 

After a few minutes, Kakashi then looks towards the hallway that leads to the kitchen. “Now, show me the feeding situation everyday.” Kakashi says. “How do you deal with feedings?” 

Sasuke and the mothers quietly lead Kakashi into the kitchen. Kakashi looks around. His eyes land on the feeding spoons in the sink and the highchairs. “Which of the babies are spoon fed?” 

Sasuke sighs. “Souta, Amani, and Mitsuro can feed themselves.” Sasuke says. “That leaves Yukiko, Ikeri, and I to feed Rukia, Orenji, Notarou, and Isamu. I have to feed both Orenji and Notarou at the same time, so I have to use both hands. And sometimes, they vomit on me!” 

“Isamu does vomit on me sometimes.” Ikeri admits. 

“Rukia vomits on me as well.” Yukiko says with a frown. “And I already get spitted up on by Yamiko.” 

Kakashi just looks at the highchairs. He steps back to think for a minute. “Actually, babies should learn to feed themselves right when they start transitioning to solid food. It helps to promote independence.” 

Sasuke and the mothers all glance at each other. Really? Rukia, Orenji, Notarou and Isamu should actually be feeding themselves?! How can they? They can’t even hold spoons yet. 

“Kakashi, how can Rukia, Orenji, Notarou and Isamu possibly feed themselves?” Sasuke asks with his eyes narrowed. “The four of them can’t hold spoons yet.” 

“Babies who can’t hold spoons should just be given bowls of puree or very soft finger foods.” Kakashi explains. “Let those babies feed themselves with their hands and fingers. It might be messy but it saves time actually spoon feeding the babies yourselves. And plus, since you are not standing there spoon feeding the little ones, you will not get  _ vomited _ on.” 

Sasuke sighs. “That would be really nice.” Sasuke says. “Not getting vomited on almost every other day.” 

“The t-shirt bibs we use work do work really well in keeping the babies clean.” Yukiko states. However, Yukiko frowns as she looks at the floor underneath the highchairs. “However, the floor might be an issue. I can just imagine how messy the floor will get during mealtimes.”  

“That is where the older children come in.” Kakashi says. “They can help you clean up after mealtimes. They can take cleaning cloths and help wipe everything up. Plus, they can also help fill food dishes and even wash and dry the dishes. However, one of you  _ absolutely _ needs to be in the kitchen during mealtimes in order to supervise the children and babies. Finger foods, even the softest ones, can still present a choking hazard.” 

Sasuke and the mothers all look at one another. This would indeed save them the time and effort trying to spoon feed the babies themselves. And the older kids will be able to help out. Even if Sasuke, Ikeri, and Yukiko still need to supervise the babies and children, it is still less work for them. 

Kakashi then rubs his chin. “Now, can I see where you bathe the babies?” Kakashi asks. 

Ikeri quickly points to the sink. “We bathe Yamiko, Imari, Osamu and Isamu in the sink.” Ikeri says. “We clip and file their nails first and that is such an arduous task. Then, we bathe the older babies in the bathtub upstairs. We also clip and file their nails. And they squirm and cry so much.” 

Kakashi’s eyes widen. “Do you really do this every night?” Kakashi asks. “There is actually no need. As long as the babies are not that dirty, they don’t have to have a bath every night. In fact, bathing the babies with soap and water every night can irritate their skin. Sometimes a good rinsing down with water will do the trick. I would say that you should bath the babies with soap and water at least every two to three days. Unless they get seriously dirty, there is no need to give them baths every night. And like I said, a good rinse down with water will do the trick.”  

Sasuke and the mothers all share glances with one another. “I guess I never thought about that.” Ikeri finally says. “It would be nice not to have to bathe babies  _ every _ night.” 

Kakashi holds up his hand. “Wait, here is actually what I suggest. In order to decrease the amount of work you do every night, you should bath certain babies on certain nights. In essence, you are still bathing babies every night, but you  _ decrease the workload _ every night. And of course, the older children can help. They can fetch pajamas, diapers, lotion, wash and shampoo and towels for you.” 

Yukiko sighs and smiles. “That can work very well now that I think about it.” Yukiko says. “Bathing so many babies every night is so hard.” 

Sasuke blinks a few times. It would be nice to not have to help bath  _ so many _ babies every night. And...Sasuke realizes that with a decreased workload every night, he may actually get to bed sooner. Sasuke manages to smile a little at the thought of  _ extra _ sleep every night.  

Kakashi nods and then looks at the door. “Now that I have seen the house for the youngest ones, can I see where the older children eat, sleep and play?” 

Keiko nods. “Yes, come this way. The one year olds house is just across the veranda. I will warn you though, the playroom can get  _ very messy _ when the kids play in it.”

* * *

Kakashi’s eyes are wide at the sight of the practically destroyed playroom. The one year olds laugh and giggle as they throw toys everywhere. Sasuke and the mothers just stand nearby. Komone just sighs. “Oh, we are gonna have to spend hours cleaning up again. And that doesn’t include the older children’s playrooms.” 

Kakashi rubs his chin thoughtfully. “Well, it appears you are giving the kids too many toys to play with at a time. They are throwing things everywhere because they  _ cannot _ figure out what to play with.” 

Sasuke and the mothers just look at one another. “I never thought of it that way.” Sasuke finally says. “We just figured more toys would give them more things to do.” 

Kakashi blinks a few times as he thinks some more. “Well, here is my suggestion. Put all of the toys into categories and put them into containers. Bins, boxes, baskets, whatever you have. Then, keep some out and put some away. Let the kids play with whatever you keep out for a day or so. When they get bored, put those toys back and bring out some different ones for them to play with. In a sense, if you rotate the toys, they will be forced to play with certain ones until they get bored with them.” 

Sasuke and the mothers look at one another. It sounds like a tedious task, but it may be worth it in the end. Keiko sighs. “I do notice that even with the toys lying around, the little ones sometimes complain that they are bored.” 

“And you also need to teach the little ones to pick up their toys and place them back into their containers.” Kakashi says. “Even the littlest ones can pick up their own toys and place them back into their proper place. You just need to show them where to put things.” 

Keiko sighs. “It would be so nice if the kids would just pick up after themselves. I have just gotten so tired of picking up after them.” 

Sasuke blinks. Not having to pick up toys anymore?! That would be a dream come true. 

Kakashi smiles and then looks at the table nearby. “And tell me,” Kakashi begins. “What is it like to feed these children their meals?” 

Komone sighs. “Motoko, Saki and I prepare the meals, and the little ones scream and cry the entire time from hunger. It just seems like the smell of the food cooking makes them hungry, and they just can’t wait.” 

Sasuke rubs his temples. “They literally act as if they are going to starve to death!” Sasuke says. “They scream, cry, wail, you name it, they do it. They throw themselves to the floor and scream their lungs out. They tug on my legs and shirt and they wail. It is just like that with the older children as well. I try to get them to the table and they are so cranky they literally fight me!” 

Kakashi’s eyes widen as he can now clearly imagine what mealtimes are like. He then rubs his chin as he thinks of a solution to the mealtime drama. “Hm, the only thing I can think of is to give them a little snack while they are waiting for their food. I would say to give them little pieces of fruit and vegetables as a snack. That can apply to all of the older children. Plus, this will increase their intake of fruits and vegetables.” 

Sasuke narrows his eyes as he looks at the mothers. The mothers also have narrowed eyes as they think about this. None of them have ever thought about giving the kids a small snack before their meals. That might actually work. They always act so hungry. A snack would probably help tide them over til their meals are ready.  

Kakashi then smiles. “And...it might help to  _ distract _ them from their hunger.” Kakashi says. “Try to sit them down at the down table at least ten minutes before the meal is supposed to be ready, and along with their snack, give them an activity to do. Give them a book to read or look at, a small toy to play with, or give them coloring supplies. This will help distract them from their hunger while the food is being prepared.” 

Sasuke’s eyes widen at the mention of  _ coloring _ . The eyes of all the mothers widen considerably as well. The kids  _ always _ seem to make a mess when they get a hold of art supplies. “Kakashi, the kids make  _ messes _ when we allow them to have art supplies. They color the walls and floors!” Sasuke says. 

“Just before mealtimes is the time to allow them to use art supplies.” Kakashi says. “Let me explain. Since the mothers will be cooking nearby, they will be able to supervise and remind the kids what not to do with the art supplies. Young kids just need supervision with some activities. That includes using art supplies. And besides, coloring will keep the kiddos very busy and distracted.” 

Sasuke and the mothers just look at one another. “That is a good point.” Komone says. “We’ll just have to be very mindful about keeping an eye on them.” 

Kakashi smiles and then looks up the stairs. “And, the older children can help get the little ones to the table and give them their snacks and activities.” Kakashi says. 

After a few minutes, Kakashi looks back at the playing toddlers. “Now, tell me what bathing these children is like?” Kakashi asks. 

Saki sighs. “Most of the children are not that bad to bathe. However, they do have certain requirements, such as a certain water temperature, a certain bath toy, and even a certain person to bathe them. We  _ can _ meet those requirements. It’s...it’s Kenji, Ryuu, Satoshi and Terashi that we have so much trouble with.” 

“And Hajime, Chihaku, Yashiro, and Akashi.” Akira says with a sigh. 

“And Raiden, Haruto, Akirou and Kazuto.” Keiko says with a sigh. 

Sasuke frowns intensely. “Those boys are an absolute  _ nightmare _ to bathe!” Sasuke says with a growl. “They kick and scream. They jump out of the bathtub and sometimes...they even try to run out the door!” 

Kakashi’s eyes widen. “Oh my.” Kakashi says. Kakashi then rubs his chin thoughtfully. “Well, as long as they are not truly that dirty, you can always try to bathe them less, just like the babies. And sometimes if you can, just rinse them off with water. It would shorten the experience for them. And if you bathe them less, then you can choose which ones to bathe per night. However, as far as stopping their tantrums during the baths, I don’t really know how I can help you. All I can say is that you have to find something that will make the bath enjoyable, such as a toy.” 

Sasuke sighs. “We have tried everything.” Sasuke says with an exasperated voice. “Nothing seems to work.” 

Kakashi sighs. “Very unfortunate.” Kakashi just says. “Now, tell me about naptime and bedtime.” 

Sasuke and all of the mothers groan. “Both times are absolutely awful!” Sasuke exclaims. “Most of the kids refuse to sleep. They cry, scream, wail and they even jump off of their futons. It’s like that for the one year olds, two year olds, three year olds and even Kazuto who just turned four. And at bedtime we struggle to get their teeth brushed as well. Well the six oldest girls brush their own teeth no problem, but it is Kazuto, Akirou, Haruto and Raiden that we struggle with. They just seem so reluctant to brush their teeth. We literally have to argue with them! Then, when we try to get them to lie down, they literally explode! They wail, they cry, scream, jump off of their futons, and even try to run out the door!” 

Keiko sighs. “Masaru and Yuuta lie down at night without a fight. Masaru is what we call an easy sleeper. The easy sleepers go down without a fight at all, both naptime and bedtime. Granted Yuuta is very reluctant with his nap, but he likes the dark and quiet of night so he willingly lies down for bed. However, Kazuto, Akirou, Haruto and Raiden’s tantrums do disturb Yuuta and Masaru’s sleep. We just don’t know how to help poor Masaru or Yuuta.”  

Kakashi steps back to think for a moment. “Are there any other  _ easy sleepers _ ?” Kakashi asks after a minute. 

Sasuke blinks a few times. “For the one year olds, it is Chiaki and Zakuro.” Sasuke quickly says. “For the two to three year olds, it is Tomone and Aiko. The oldest ones are Masaru and Hoshiko. And of course Yuuta does go to sleep willingly at night.” 

“We have also found that the little ones are actually disturbed by their brothers and sisters tantrums as well.” Aika says with a sigh. 

Kakashi blinks a few times. “Well, all I can think of is to give the easy sleepers their own bedrooms,  _ away _ from the ones who throw tantrums.” 

Sasuke and the mothers all look at one another. It is Tamiko who finally speaks. “It would make sense to put the quieter children into their own bedrooms.” Tamiko says. However, her eyes soon furrow as she frowns. “However, we only have so many bedrooms in each house though. Where would we even find the room to give some of the kids their own bedrooms?” 

Kakashi rubs his chin. “Try to reconfigure the layout of each house and see what you come up with.” Kakashi says. He then sighs. “Well, I am sorry but that is all I can think of to help you with the children’s sleeping problems.” 

Keiko sighs. “Well, at least there is something we can  _ try _ .” Keiko says. 

Sasuke just grumbles. Where are they even gonna find extra rooms in the houses? And it just seems like new children and babies are brought to the village every month or so. Things just keep changing. This isn’t the first time Sasuke and the mothers have had to rearrange things in order to accomodate more children. But...where can they find  _ extra _ bedrooms in the houses? 

Keiko suddenly sighs. “Giving the eldest children chores does sound reasonable, but what you described sounds like an awful lot of work for them to do. What if they resist cause they think they won’t have time to play?” 

Kakashi holds up his right hand. “Here is what you need to do.” Kakashi begins to say. “Rotate their chores, like the toys. For example, have a small group help with the babies one day, while other groups help with the one year olds and the two year olds. How many children over three do you have or at least between three and four?” 

“Twelve…,” Hitomi quickly says. “There is Kazuto and Hikari, who both just turned four. Then, there is Akirou who will be four in about a week. There is Tsukiko, who will be four in about two and a half months. Reika is just a week younger than Tsukiko. And then there is Haruto and Yuuta, who are both three and a half. And then there is Masaru, Sayuri, Hoshiko, Raiden, and Kaida. Raiden and Kaida just turned three about two weeks ago.” 

Kakashi rubs his chin. “Alright then, so you have twelve children between the age of three and four.” Kakashi says. “And you have infants, one year olds, and two year olds to three year olds. Divide the eldest twelve children into groups of three and have them help out in certain houses on certain days. For example, one group can help in the infant house one day, another in the one years olds house, and the last in the two to three year olds house. And everyday, rotate the groups so that they get time in each house per week. And just have them help out at times such as diaper changes, getting the babies settled down in their playroom, mealtimes and bathtimes. Just make sure you give them plenty of time to play during the day.”  

Sasuke and the other mothers just look at one another. “Well, that could work actually.” Hitomi says. 

Kakashi sighs and rubs the back of his head. “Well, that is all the advice I can give you right now..” Kakashi says. However, Kakashi’s eyes soon light up as he thinks of something else. “Oh, and make sure that you praise the eldest children for doing their chores. That will encourage them to keep on doing them. And just so you know, don’t expect a change overnight. It may take a few days or even a week to see improvement.” 

Just then, Naruto, Sakura and the kids walk through the doors. Naruto and the kids all smile brightly. Sakura however, looks like she is exhausted. Sakura then walks over to Sasuke. “Sasuke, how do you do it each day?” Sakura whispers to her teammate. “How do you deal with these kids?” 

Sasuke closes his eyes. “I barely do some days.” Sasuke quietly admits. “But...Kakashi has just given the mothers and I some decent advice. Hopefully we can start to get these kids under control.”  

Sakura sighs. “Good luck with that.” Sakura whispers. 

Naruto and the kids all smile. “The kiddos have decided that they want to play ninja now!” Naruto exclaims. “Where is all their toy ninja gear?” 

“In the playroom in the oldest children’s house.” Keiko says as she points to said house through the window. 

Naruto smiles. “Okie dokie then! Come on kids, let’s go get your ninja gear so that we can play  _ ninja _ !” 

“YAY, PLAY NINJA!” All of the kids cheer as they follow Naruto out of the house. 

After a few minutes, Keiko just looks at Tamiko. “You know, if Naruto can tire the kids out,  _ all _ of them may just go down for their naps without a fight after lunch.” Keiko says. 

Tamiko sighs. “That would be a  _ miracle _ .”  

Sasuke blinks a few times. He thinks of his sensei’s advice. Sasuke knows that tomorrow, things are going to change. And hopefully, it is for the better. If not, then Sasuke doesn’t know what to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, Kakashi gave Sasuke and the mothers advice! So, what do you think of Kakashi's advice? Could it work, or could it cause more problems?


	14. Planning big changes

Sasuke blinks as he sits at a table with Kakashi and Sakura. Keiko, Hitomi, Tamiko, Aika, Akira, Komone, Motoko and Yukiko all sit at the table as well. It has been ten minutes since Naruto, the oldest children, and the two to three year olds left to play ninja. Ikeri is supervising all of the babies upstairs. Saki is supervising the one year olds. Right now, it is time for Sasuke and the rest of the mothers to plan big changes. Kakashi and Sakura have agreed to at least help and give their honest opinions. 

Yukiko sighs as she looks at the clock. It is ten thirty am. They have one and half hours until it is time to make lunch. “Alright, where should we begin?” Yukiko asks. 

“Let’s start with what we can give the kids as pre meal snacks.” Keiko says. “Our budget is limited so we will have to be careful with what we give them.” 

Kakashi rubs his chin. “I did see a big vegetable garden in a vacant plot. What kind of vegetables do you grow?” 

“Mostly leafy greens.” Keiko says. “We have kale, spinach, microgreens, chard, arugula, cabbage, and average lettuces.” 

“We also have broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, green onions, bulb onions, potatoes, and bell peppers.” Hitomi says. “Oh, and we do have celery, plus some melons, and some berry bushes. Oh, and we also grow herbs in pots.” 

“There are a few raspberry vines and blackberry vines growing on one of the stone walls.” Sasuke says. “And there are a few fruit trees scattered around the compound. We have apples, pears, plums, and peaches. However, there are few trees, so it’s not enough to feed everyone.”  

Kakashi rubs his chin again. “Here is what I would suggest.” Kakashi says. “For snacks, give the kids the cheapest and most abundant fruits and vegetables that you have for snacks. For the littlest ones, make sure that the fruits and vegetables are soft and or cut up so that the kiddoes don’t choke.”  

Sasuke and the mothers look at one another. That might work. Keiko sighs. “Alright, now that we have solved the problem of pre meal snacks, let’s get down to another problem. The sleeping situation.” 

Yukiko sighs. “The thing is...my father was a building planner in a large village in the land of Tea. I do know how to draw building layouts. Drawings of the layouts of all the houses will help us see what room we actually have. However, it will take me a little bit of time. I can make up some drawings while all of you discuss the toy situation.” 

“Alright, that sounds like a good idea.” Tamiko says. 

Yukiko sighs and gets up from her spot. Yukiko leaves the room. Hitomi just looks at everyone. “Alright, now we need to decide how to rotate all of the toys.” 

Keiko narrows her eyes. “You know, there is big stuff in the playrooms that will not not be easy to move or rotate. I think that those items should stay out. However, all of the small toys will go into the rotation.” 

Sasuke blinks a few times. “Yeah, the babies and one year olds each have small ball pits and rocking horses in their playrooms.” Sasuke says. “Those would be very difficult to keep taking out and putting back in.” 

Kakashi rubs his chin thoughtfully. “I see no problem in keeping out some of the big toys like that.” Kakashi agrees. 

Keiko then narrows her eyes again. “You know I just thought of something.” Keiko says. “Yukiko and Ikeri always complain about how cramped the kitchen is in the infant’s house. There is the table and the highchairs. I was just wondering if there was a way we could find more baby chairs like we use for Souta, Amani, and Mitsuro, and just ditch the highchairs all together.” 

Sasuke blinks a few times. “The kitchen is very cramped now that you mention it.” Sasuke says. “I also know that Yukiko and Ikeri are always complaining that they don’t have enough counter space in order to fix bottles and food everyday.” 

Keiko nods. “Yes, I was also thinking of something else. The playroom right off the kitchen used to be a dining room. Maybe we should turn that back into a dining room and use that as the baby feeding space. Then, that will free up the kitchen. We could put a table in the middle of the kitchen for Yukiko and Ikeri to have more prep space.” 

“Good idea!” Tamiko says. “That will really help Yuiko and Ikeri. And having the babies all seated at one table together will make it easier for the older children to help out.” 

Hitomi then frowns as she rubs her chin. “You know, we also do need to make extra bedrooms in the houses for when another mother with a baby or even an older child joins us.” 

Sasuke blinks a few times. Hitomi is right of course. They need to have flexible spaces in order to house more mothers, babies and children if necessary. 

“You are right Hitomi.” Keiko says. “I am sure we will be able to figure out better sleeping arrangements once Yukiko is done with her drawings. That also brings me to another issue. We need to make certain that we have enough supplies for when another mother plus a baby or child joins us. Maybe we should try to look around the compound for more baby and kid supplies and make a huge supply closet in each house. That way when we do get more babies, we don’t have to hunt around the compound for more stuff, or even buy more stuff.”  

Sasuke blinks a few times. Keiko is right. It is always a pain to have to gather more clothes, toys, and even bedding when another child arrives. Keiko does have a point. They are always having to hunt around the compound for more baby supplies and even kid supplies. Sometimes, they even have to buy stuff, which blows the budget. Gathering as much stuff around the compound will save them time, money and effort when a new mother and baby, or just a baby arrives. Sasuke sighs. Sounds like he will have to go hunting for supplies. Surely there’s stuff in the compound that they can use. If there are still unused baby and kid supplies in the compound, they may as well be put to use. 

Keiko then looks at Kakashi. “You did say that the children have too many toys. However, it might not hurt to gather more since we will be packing away and rotating them. It might be good to have more  _ variety _ in order to keep things even more interesting for the kids. And one of the things we do is give new babies or children a stuffed toy if they don’t already have one. We could always use more stuffed animals, even if we have to just keep them packed away until a new child arrives.” 

Kakashi rubs his chin. “Hm, if that is what you do, then that is a good idea.” Kakashi says. “However, I would avoid gathering  _ replicas _ of what the kids already have.” 

Keiko blinks a few times. “And I was also thinking that we could actually keep the small handheld toys, games and art activities on shelves in the dining rooms.” Keiko says. “That way we can easily get them down for the kids to play with and then they can easily be put away when dinner is ready. We can also do that with the books. We can keep some toys and books for the playrooms, and some for the dining rooms.”  

Kakashi rubs his chin some more. “That could also work and would definitely make things very simple for all of you.” 

After a few minutes, Kakashi sighs. “You know, gathering supplies and rearranging the rooms will take time and effort. Don't sweat it if you don’t fix everything today. Villages are not built in a day.” 

Sasuke blinks a few times. He knows that Kakashi is right. Fixing all of the problems in the compound will take a considerable amount of time and effort. However, Sasuke just wants to fix everything  _ as soon as possible. _ Maybe Sasuke and the mothers should consider skipping baby bath night in order to devote time to this project. And...maybe if the kids are so exhausted that they lie down for their naps without a fight, Sasuke and the mothers will be able to continue their work some more.

* * *

Sasuke, Keiko, Tamiko, and Hitomi all quietly exit the oldest children’s nap room. Sasuke and the three women all manage small smiles. It was just as Sasuke and the mothers had hoped. The oldest children and the two to three year olds were so exhausted from playing with Naruto, they all lied down for their naps without a fight. Even Naruto is taking a nap in another room. Even Kazuto, Akirou, Haruto and Raiden lied down for their naps without a fight, which is a  _ miracle _ in itself. Sasuke and the mothers did still have to deal with naptime tantrums from the one year olds, but it was still nice to not have to deal with so  _ many _ naptime tantrums. However, there shall be no nap for Sasuke today. It is time to get back to work. 

Sasuke, Keiko, Tamiko, and Hitomi all enter the dining room of the oldest children’s house. Kakashi, Sakura, Yukiko, Komone, Motoko and Aika are all gathered at the table. Ikeri, Saki and Akira are all keeping an eye on the sleeping children in the other houses. Yukiko sighs as she takes out some drawings. Yamiko is nestled in a sling around Yukiko’s body. The baby sleeps the best when she is in her sling. 

Yukiko sighs as she shows off the first drawing to Sasuke and the other mothers. “This is the first floor of the infants’ house.” Yukiko says quietly. 

Sasuke looks down at the drawing. Keiko clears her throat. “Yukiko, we all know that the kitchen is cramped, so I already have a solution for that. We can find more baby chairs like we use for Souta, Mitsuro, and Amani, and just ditch the highchairs all together. Then, we can convert the playroom off of the kitchen back into a dining room. We can then put a table in the middle of the kitchen to give you and Ikeri some more prep space.” 

Yukiko gasps and then smiles. “Ikeri and I would like that very much.” Yukiko says with a smile. Yukiko then looks back down at the drawing. “I was also thinking that since we are going to use one big playroom for all of the babies, we could convert the one I use into an extra bedroom. Or...a storage room.” 

“Great idea!” Tamiko says with a smile. 

Sasuke blinks a few times. Yukiko is right of course. They need to have flexible spaces in order to house more mothers, babies and children if necessary. 

Yukiko then points to a big room on the first floor, that is on the left side of the infant house, just off of the dining room. “We could use that big room as the playroom. It has a nice strong ceiling to hold bouncy seats and nice soft tatami mat floors for the babies to crawl on. The upstairs playroom could become a big nursery for all of the babies. This will free up the former nurseries as bedrooms as well.” 

“An excellent idea!” Komone says with a smile. 

Yukiko then flips the drawing over to reveal another drawing. “This is the second floor of the infant house.” Yukiko says. 

Sasuke and the mothers all look at the drawing. Komone points to the playroom that Ikeri uses...or at least used to use. “Ikeri’s playroom now becomes the baby nursery, and the former boys and girls nurseries become extra bedrooms.”

Ikeri points to a small windowless room just off the stairs. “There is a windowless room right off the stairs that can be used as another supply closet.” Ikeri says. 

“Great idea.” Yukiko says. Yukiko then takes out another drawing. “Now here is the first floor of the one year olds house.”  

Komone and Motoko look at the drawing, trying to decide how best to rearrange the place. “I don’t see any way to rearrange the first floor too much.” Motoko says with a sigh. “There is one very small windowless room that could become a supply closet.” 

Komone rubs her chin, deep in thought. Komone then points to the children’s nap room. “You know, the children are still very young. It probably wouldn’t hurt to just put them into one big bedroom. One of the former bedrooms could become Zakuro and Chiaki’s bedroom. That would leave one extra bedroom as well. And if the rest of the children are in one bedroom, it would be very simple to just put them into their bedroom for a nap instead of using a nap room. The nap room could become an extra bedroom as well.” 

“Great idea Komone!” Motoko says. “Even if Zakuro and Chiaki are sharing a room, they would both be away from the noisier children when it is time to sleep.” 

“But don’t forget that Zakuro will be moving into the two year old house in another two months.” Keiko says with a frown. “And Akashi and Aiko will be three in less that three weeks.” 

Sasuke’s eyes widen. “That would leave Akira taking care of the rest of the children in the two year old house alone!” Sasuke says. 

Aika sighs. “Well, due to Akashi and Aiko being twins, they were slightly preterm and are thus small for their age. The biggest boys might be too much for Akashi to handle right now. It might be best for Akashi, Aiko and I to stay in the two year old house a little longer.” 

Motoko blinks a few times. “And Zakuro is also very small for his age as well.” Motoko says. “It might be best if he stays in the one year olds house a little longer as well.” 

Sasuke and the other mothers all look at one another. That probably wouldn’t hurt anything. Akashi, Aiko, and Zakuro are all small for their ages. And, the eldest boys can be rough when playing. Even the two to three year old boys can be rough. Sasuke can picture the eldest boys  _ accidentally _ hurting Akashi during a rough game of wrestling. Sasuke can also picture the two to three year old boys  _ accidentally _ hurting little Zakuro during a game of tag. 

Yukiko sighs as she flips the paper over. “This is the second floor of the one year olds house.” Yukiko says. 

Komone and Motoko look at the drawing. They both sigh. “Well, we do see another bedroom that could work as an extra bedroom for more mothers. There is also a windowless room that could work as a supply closet.” 

Sasuke just blinks a few times. He knows that the other houses have even less bedrooms available to house extra mothers and children. 

Yukiko sighs and lays out another drawing. “This is the first floor of the two year olds house.” Yukiko says. 

Sasuke and the mothers look at the drawing, trying to figure out how to arrange things. “Well…,” Aika says with a tense voice. “I do see a small windowless room that could work as a supply closet. But there doesn’t seem to be too much wiggle room on the first floor.” 

Yukiko turns the paper over. “This is the second floor.” Yukiko says. 

Sasuke and the mothers study the drawing closely. Aika sighs. “I don’t see much wiggle room on the second floor either.” Aika says. “The boys and girls do get on each other's nerves sometimes, so I think they absolutely need  _ separate bedrooms _ . However, I think we can make a bigger playroom by taking down the shoji screens between the nap room and the playroom. We can always put the children down for naps in their bedrooms. However, I at least do see a bedroom that would work for Aiko and Tomone, and one for Zakuro when he eventually moves into the house.”  

Sasuke blinks a few times. The nap room in the two to three year olds house is just a huge room divided into two with shoji screens. One side of the room is the playroom. The other side is the nap room. 

Yukiko sighs. “Alright then, this is the last house…,” Yukiko says as she takes out another drawing. “The eldest children’s house. This is the first floor.”  

Sasuke and the mothers all look at the drawing. Keiko sighs. “Well, there is a very small windowless room that could work as a supply closet. The only good thing about the first floor is that the kids have a nice big playroom...and their current bedrooms are nice and big.” 

Yukiko sighs as she turns the paper over. “This is the second floor.” Yukiko says. 

Keiko quickly studies the drawing. “I don’t see much wiggle room here either.” Keiko says. “Even if we eliminate the nap room and put the children down for their naps in their bedrooms, there still won’t be an increase in bedrooms. The nap room is just like in the two year olds house. It wouldn’t make a good  _ bedroom _ . And the only vacant bedroom left should work perfectly as a bedroom for Hoshiko. However, the last room can’t really count as a bedroom. It’s tiny, and it has such a small window. Yuuta and Masaru just can’t sleep in there.” 

“Yeah, there is no way the boys can sleep in that room.” Hitomi agrees. “But...now there is no option for them to have their own bedroom. Nor do we have any extra bedrooms! What do we do?” 

Sasuke, Kakashi, Sakura and all of the mothers blink a few times. What to do indeed? However, Kakashi just looks at Sasuke. Kakashi is certain that his student will not like his idea. “Sasuke, I do have a solution to this problem, even if you don’t like it.” Kakashi begins. “I just thought that maybe it would be best if Yuuta and Masaru slept in  _ your _ house at night.” 

Sasuke’s eyes widen immediately. “What?!” Sasuke asks. 

Kakashi holds up his hand. “Here is my full solution for you.” Kakashi begins. “During the day, the boys will play with their brothers and sisters, and eat with them in the oldest children’s house. They can even be bathed in the oldest children’s house. However, they will go home every night with you, and sleep there. This will give them their own room.” 

Sasuke just blinks a few times. He is sure that he could get Yuuta and Masaru to bed no problem. However, Yuuta can be very resistant when it comes to naptime. “But...what about nap time?” Sasuke asks. “Masaru wouldn’t be bad to put down for a nap but Yuuta is a whole different story. I just don’t know if I could deal with it.” 

Keiko then comes up with an idea. “I know what to do.” Keiko says. “During the day, Masaru and Yuuta can be put down for their naps in the oldest children’s house with the other children. If we put Yuuta and the other boys in their bedroom, and the girls except Hoshiko in the girl’s bedroom, then Masaru and Hoshiko could have the nap room to sleep in! I am sure those two wouldn’t mind napping in the nap room together.” 

Hitomi blinks a few times. “That doesn’t sound like a bad idea.” Hitomi says. “I mean Masaru would be away from the rest of the boys when it is naptime. And Masaru and Yuuta would be away from the other boys at bedtime.” 

Kakashi looks at Sasuke. “Do you think you could get Masaru and Yuuta to bed yourself? Could you get their teeth brushed? Could you even bathe them no problem if the need arises?” 

Sasuke thinks about this for a minute. Eventually Sasuke sighs. “Yes.” Sasuke says. “Masaru and Yuuta brush their own teeth no problem. They take their baths, though they do have certain requirements. And they lie down easily at bedtime.” 

Kakashi smiles. “Excellent.” Kakashi says. 

“Wait, but that would mean Sasuke wouldn’t be around to help get the oldest children to bed!” Tamiko says with some worry. 

“We’ll just have to improvise.” Keiko says. “The girls are a little easier to get to sleep. Maybe we could put Hosiko and the girls to bed first, and then all three of us can wrangle Kazuto, Akirou, Haruto, and Raiden afterwards.” 

Komone and Motoko look at one another. “I guess either Saki, Motoko and I could help out at the oldest children’s bedtime if needed. Like Kakashi said, we need to find something that will make bedtime enjoyable for them and the other children.” 

Tamiko and Hitomi look at one another. “I guess that could work.” Tamiko says. 

Sasuke just blinks in realization. He is gonna have to share his home at night with Masaru and Yuuta. Just great. Sasuke then blinks again. Well, as long as the boys don’t disturb him in his sleep, then maybe everything will be alright. 

Kakashi blinks a few times as he rubs his chin. “You know, if the houses get too crowded with mothers and children, you may all have to disperse into other nearby houses. Some of you will have to take your children, and maybe even some of the motherless ones and move into another house or two.” 

Sasuke and the mothers blink a few times as they look at one another. They all know one day the houses will just get too overcrowded and they will eventually have to consider dispersing into other homes. It’s just a matter of  _ when _ that will happen.

* * *

Sasuke, Kakashi and Sakura all busily look through the vacant house. Motoko and Komone are looking through another vacant house. Ikeri and Aika are looking through another nearby vacant house. Keiko and Hitomi are looking through another vacant house. After the children woke up from their nap, they begged Naruto to play ninja with them again, which Naruto agreed to. With the children distracted, it is a good time to go through the vacant houses and gather supplies. Yukiko stayed behind to look after the babies. Saki is looking after the one year olds. Tamiko and Akira stayed behind to begin dinner preparation. 

Sasuke goes over to a small bookcase in a child's room. The blood was cleaned off the walls long ago, but the atmosphere is still heavy. A testament to what took place years ago. 

Sasuke then looks over at the mattress less bed. After the massacre, Sasuke removed everything blood stained from the compound and cleaned the walls. When he had thoughts about reviving the clan himself, he didn’t want future generations to spread out to blood stained houses. However, now that Sasuke is not gonna have children, the task to refill the compound with life shall be left up to the kids. It will be nice for them not to have to move into  _ bloody _ homes in the future. 

Sasuke turns his attention back to the bookcase. Sasuke carefully takes out each book and rifles through their contents. They are picture books and they don’t look familiar so these books must be different from the ones back in the kids playrooms. Perfect, new books for the kids to look through. As Sasuke gathers the books into a basket, he realizes something. The oldest kids still don’t know how to read very well. Sasuke and the mothers will have to teach them to read before they enter the academy. Sasuke rubs his temples. Hopefully the little brats will be willing learners. 

Nearby, Sakura is taking out some clothes from the closet. “These clothes are in good shape.” Sakura says. “These don’t look like they could fit any of the kids yet, but it will be good to have them when they outgrow their old clothes.” 

“Yeah.” Sasuke says as he gathers more toys into a basket. 

Kakashi comes in with a couple of sheet sets. “ I found these in a closet.” Kakashi says. “These look like extra sheet sets for a child’s futon.” 

Sasuke nods and looks at the sheets. “We do need extra sheets, especially if we get a new kid or baby to take care of.” 

Sakura pulls out some stuffed animals from a basket. “Here are some stuffed animals like you were talking about, and some are actually small hand sized. I think these ones would make perfect dining room toys.” 

Sasuke blinks as he looks at the small stuffed toys. “Yeah, those would definitely work at the tables.” Sasuke says. “The bigger ones we could use in the playrooms, or to give to a new kid or baby.” 

Kakashi then points to the door. “I actually have something else to show you. Come with me.” 

Sasuke and Sakura just look at one another before they follow Kakashi. Kakashi walks into another kids room. Sitting against one wall is a pair of bunkbeds. The floor level bunk holds a futon, which is currently rolled up. Kakashi looks at Sasuke. “Have you ever thought about giving the kids bunk beds?” Kakashi asks. “Bunk beds would save space in their bedrooms.” 

Sasuke blinks a few times. “I have never thought about that.” Sasuke says. “However, the boys are just so wild, they might hurt themselves jumping down from the top bunks.” 

Kakashi points to the bunk bed before him. “I wouldn’t recommend this for the one year olds or the two year olds, but some of the eldest children might appreciate something other than a futon. This type is not high off of the ground.” Kakashi says as he points out the height of the top bunk. “The floor level is for a futon, which can be rolled away to allow for more space to play.” 

Sasuke blinks a few times. “That is a good point.” Sasuke says. “The top bunk even has a guard rail. As long as the boys don’t jump down things will probably be ok.” 

Kakashi then rubs his chin as he thinks of something. “You know, if you want to rearrange the playrooms, then I would consult the workers at the daycare and orphanage. They deal with large playrooms everyday.” 

Sasuke blinks. He never really thought about that before. He doesn’t really want to visit a noisy daycare or orphanage. However, it would probably be worth it to learn how to manage over forty children efficiently.

* * *

Sasuke looks around at the vacant house. The house is small and minimal. Kakashi and Sakura stand behind him. Kakashi just blinks at the size of it. “This house doesn’t look like it once housed children, but it probably wouldn’t hurt to look.” Kakashi says. 

Without another word, Sasuke slides open the door. Sasuke, Kakashi and Sakura all step inside. Sakura frowns at how rundown the inside is. “Sheesh, no offense Sasuke, but whoever lived here must have not taken very good care of this house.”

Sasuke blinks as he walks through the house along with his sensei and female teammate. Suddenly, it hits Sasuke. The Uchiha remembers having an old greedy distant cousin. A mean old miser named Karou Uchiha. This is Karou’s home. Sasuke huffs as he remembers the greedy man. Karou was so stingy with his money, he barely paid the clan’s compound maintenance fee. The clan compound maintenance fee was a fee that all of the adult Uchiha’s paid to help keep the clan compound’s communal areas upkept. Sasuke remembers coming here with his father once when he was five. Fugaku didn’t receive the maintenance fee like he was supposed to that week. So, the angry and annoyed clan head had to come to the house in order to collect the fee.  

_ A little five year old Sasuke follows his father, Fugaku Uchiha up to Karou Uchiha’s small house. Little Sasuke cocks his head in confusion as his father, with a face full of annoyance and anger, just knocks on the door. A few minutes passes. Fugaku knocks again. Little Sasuke just stares at his angry father.  _

_ “Father, why are you mad?” Little Sasuke asks with a curious little voice. “And why are we at Karou’s house? I don’t like him. He is old and mean!”  _

_ Fugaku growls with annoyance as he spares a glance at his young son. “Karou didn’t pay me the compound maintenance fee like he was supposed to.” Fugaku says with an irritated voice. “I am angry because I had to come here and collect it.”  _

_ Fugaku knocks on the door again, this time a little harder. “Karou, if you are in there, you better open up!” Fugaku yells.  _

_ A few minutes later, a gray haired man looking to be in his late fifties opens up the door. The man’s black eyes are stern and mean looking. The man’s mouth is fixed in a hard scowl. “Fugaku.” The man says with a hard voice.  _

_ “Karou, you have some serious explaining to do.” Fugaku says with a hard toned voice. “You didn’t pay the compound maintenance fee like you were supposed to. Everyone else has already paid theirs. Mind telling me why you haven’t?”  _

_ Karou just growls slowly. “Let’s just say I got distracted.” Karou says with an irritated voice.  _

_ Fugaku growls, not accepting Karou’s lame excuse. “Just pay me your fee!” Fugaku practically yells. “I am not leaving until you pay your share!”  _

_ Karoum growls again and leaves the doorway. He returns a few minutes later with a few paper bills. “Here, just take it and go!” Karou says.  _

_ Fugaku takes the money from Karou, and counts it just to make sure Karou is not trying to get away with paying less. After a minute, Fugaku nods with satisfaction and turns to little Sasuke. “Come Sasuke, let’s go.” Fugaku says.  _

_ Little Sasuke just blinks as he follows his father down the pathway. Karou practically slams his door shut as Sasuke and Fugaku leave. _

Sasuke opens his eyes as the memory fades. “This house belonged to Karou Uchiha.” Sasuke finally says. “Let’s just say I didn’t like him. In fact, no one in my clan liked him. Karou was a greedy old miser.” 

Kakashi and Sakura just narrow their eyes as they look around at the house. “Well, that would certainly explain why the place is so empty and run down.” Kakashi says. Kakashi then steps on a tatami mat, which sinks just a little. Kakashi takes his foot off of the tatami mat and looks down. 

Sasuke and Sakura just narrow their eyes as Kakashi studies the tatami mat with curious eyes. “I think there might be a hollow space underneath this tatami mat.” Kakashi finally says as he bends down and lifts the tatami mat up. 

Kakashi’s hunch turns out to be right. There is a hidden underneath the tatami mat, which holds a black box with a keyhole. Kakashi lifts the box out and studies it. “Something is telling me to open this box.” Kakashi says. “Can the two of you look for the key?” 

Sasuke and Sakura nod and begin searching every inch of the house. After ten minutes of searching, Sasuke finally finds a key in a cupboard. Kakashi tries out the key in the box’s keyhole. There is a click. Kakashi opens up the box. Sasuke’s eyes widen considerably at what exactly is in the box. 

Inside the box...is money. A  _ lot _ of money. Sasuke grits his teeth a little. Karou was  _ truly _ greedy. The man had money yet he kept trying to get out of paying the compound maintenance fee. Such a greedy old miser!

Kakashi just hands the box to Sasuke. “Well, it looks like the greedy miser decided to  _ stash _ his money here.” Kakashi says with an amused voice. “And since the man is dead, this means the money belongs to you now, Sasuke.”

Sasuke sets the box down and begins counting the money. “There has to be at least five hundred thousand ryo in here!” Sasuke says. “I just can’t believe this.” 

Kakashi smiles a little. “You said that you and the mothers were tight on money, so this must be your lucky day.”

* * *

Keiko and the other mothers just gape at the money in the box. Sasuke, Kakashi and Sakura sit across from them. Everyone got done going through the vacant houses about ten minutes ago. They all met up at the oldest children’s house in order to repost their findings. Sasuke is showing Keiko and the other mothers the box full of money. 

Keiko slowly begins counting the money, just to make certain that what she is looking at is real. After Keiko is done counting, she gasps and covers her mouth. “There is 550, 000 ryo in here!” Keiko finally says when she uncovers her mouth. “ _ Unbelievable _ !” 

“One of my distant relatives was a greedy old miser.” Sasuke says with a hard voice. “This was  _ his _ stash.” 

Hitomi just smiles as she looks at all of the money. “This is just amazing.” Hitomi says. “Do you know what we could do with all of this money?!” 

“A lot.” Ikeri says with a smile. 

Sasuke sighs. “Kakashi, Sakura, and I found bunk beds.” Sasuke explains. “They are low to the ground and the bottom is for a futon or a mattress that goes on the floor. Kakashi thinks that the oldest kids are at least old enough to use those bunk beds. Bunk beds would save space in their bedrooms and we would be able to fit more children in them if needed.” 

Keiko, Tamiko, and Hitomi all look at one another. “Well, that is a good idea.” Keiko says. “Just how many bunk beds did you find?” 

Sasuke thinks about it for a minute. “Around ten.” Sasuke finally says. 

Keiko does the math. “Well, we need two in the boys room.” Keiko says. “Two bottom bunks and two top bunks. In the girls room, we can use at least three. Since Hoshiko will be moving into her own bedroom, that will leave the other five girls in the girls bedroom. Three bunks will equal six beds total. There will be an extra bed for when another girl moves in there.” 

“Good thinking Keiko.” Tamiko says with a smile. “And that leaves extra bunk beds as well!” 

Ikeri then sits back to think for a minute. “You know, we could put bundbeds into Hoshiko’s room as well. Aiko and Tomone will eventually move out of the two year olds house, and they are easy sleepers like Hoshiko. It would make sense for the three of them to share a room one day. It would be nice if they had beds waiting for them.” 

“Good thinking Ikeri.” Keiko says with a smile. “And I was also thinking that we could give the kids bedroom walls a coat of paint. The walls in their bedrooms are looking a little dingy and old. And this money can make that happen.” 

Sasuke leans back. So far everything is going well. And the discovery of this money has brightened everyone’s moods.

* * *

Sasuke sighs as he gets up from his bed. It is 6:30 am. The kids didn’t wake him up again this morning. However, he still has to get to work. 

Sasuke grabs his clothes and heads for the bathroom. He thinks of yesterday. Yesterday, Sasuke, Kakashi, Sakura and the other mothers spent the entire day planning the big changes and gathering supplies while Naruto played with the kids. When dinnertime rolled around, the rest of team Seven went home. This left Sasuke and the mothers to take care of the kids. Sasuke and the mothers decided to skip bathing the babies and one year olds so that they could devote time to their  _ project _ . However, the eldest children and the two to three year olds still needed baths due to them playing with Naruto all day, and getting sweaty and dirty as a result. So, right after dinner, Sasuke and the mothers of the two to three year olds and the oldest children set to bathing the kids. While they did that, Ikeri, Yukiko, Komone, Motoko, and Saki sorted through the baby things that had been gathered. Sasuke and the mothers still dealt with bath time tantrums from the oldest boys and the two to three year olds. However, it was nice to not have to deal with  _ so many _ bath time tantrums.

Then, bedtime rolled around, and there was another bonus for Sasuke and the mothers of the two year olds and the twelve oldest kids. The twelve eldest children and two year olds were so tired from their day of playing with Naruto, they all lied down without a fight. After Sasuke, Keiko, Hitomi and Tamiko put the boys to bed, they began sorting through kid things and began grouping things into piles. After everything was sorted through and packed away into containers, they went to bed

Sasuke blinks as he finally reaches the bathroom. Today, he is going to train with the rest of team seven today after breakfast. This will leave the mothers to continue the project without him. Hopefully they will be able to complete the project without his help. Today, Keiko is actually going to the orphanage and daycare to ask the workers for advice. Hopefully Keiko can get some advice that hasn’t already been given by Kakashi.

* * *

Sasuke sighs as he helps Sakura and Ikeri put away baby supplies into the new feeding closet by the kitchen and dining room. This morning he went to train with team seven while the other mothers continued their work, only to find out that Kakashi had to attend a jonin meeting. This means that team seven can’t train today. So...Sasuke and Sakura decided to convince Naruto to play with the kids  _ again _ today. Sasuke and Sakura told their teammate that they were going to help the mothers rearrange the kids playrooms and bedrooms to make them  _ better _ . Naruto thought that was cool and readily agreed to keep the kids distracted for them. So, Sasuke, Sakura and the mothers are all busy working while Naruto and the kids play. 

Sasuke, Sakura, Ikeri, Yukiko are all working in the infant house. Yukiko is busy babysitting in the new playroom downstairs. Yet all the while, she is busy trying to figure out how to arrange the new playroom. Komone and Saki are all working in the one year olds house while Motoko babysits in Sasuke’s house. Akira and Aika are working in the two to three year olds house. Tamiko and Hitomi are working in the oldest children’s home. Keiko is visiting the village daycare and the orphanage for more advice. She should be back anytime. Hopefully she is back in time for lunch though.  

Sasuke looks at the newly designed feeding closet. On rows of shelves, which Ikeri put up herself with some help from Sasuke and Sakura, there are containers and baskets filled with baby supplies such as baby bottles, baby burp rags and extras of anything else. On the floor underneath the lowest shelf, there are extra baby seats lining the floor. The rest of the shelves shall store food and other equipment. 

Sasuke exits the feeding closet and looks at the kitchen and former playroom. The former playroom is now a dining room again. In the new dining room is a long table with baby seats set neatly on each side. On the left side of the room is a short yet expansive shelving unit that is only four feet tall at the most with shelves to hold goods. The shelves are lined with baby supplies such as feeding dishes, sippy cups, baby bibs, baby wipes and napkins, baby utensils, and small easy to clean toys to keep the babies occupied. Sakura actually suggested this. She said that allowing for the older kids to have easy access to this stuff will make it easier for them to help out. The kitchen now sports a big table in the middle of it. Yukiko and Ikeri now have plenty of space in order to prepare food. 

Sasuke enters the dining room. On the left side of the wide shelving unit and dining room is the new playroom. A wide foldable baby gate that can stretch to the other side of the room has been attached to the wall. The gate can fold out and be attached to a hook on the shelving unit. This will keep the babies in the playroom if needed. On the playroom end, there are shelving units put up on the other side of the baby feeding shelves that hold various toys. In the playroom, Yukiko is supervising the babies. 

Ikeri sighs as she looks contently at the finished feeding closet. “Ok, now it is time to work upstairs.” Ikeri says. 

Sasuke sighs as he follows Sakura and Ikeri upstairs to the playroom that Ikeri used to use. Ikeri opens the door. The room has been thoroughly emptied out. All that is before Sasuke, Sakura, and Ikeri is a big open room with a big window, and a wooden floor. Ikeri sighs. “Alright, we first have to move the babies’ cribs in here. Then we can see what we have to work with. However, I was thinking that we should move Osamu and Imari into bassinets. The two of them always seem to wake up at night. I did read that babies who are not able to sit up yet can safely sleep in bassinets. And...babies under six months actually feel more secure when they are in more confined sleeping spaces, like a bassinet.” 

Sasuke shrugs. “It couldn’t hurt nothing.” Sasuke says. “It would give us more space to work with right now.” 

Ikeri nods and leaves the room to go grab two bassinets from a nearby vacant house. Sasuke and the mothers have decided to use a nearby vacant house to store big things like cribs, bassinets and beds. Sasuke and Sakura then leave the room to fetch Souta, Amani, Mitsuro, Rukia, Orenji, and Notarou’s cribs. One by one, Sasuke and Sakura carefully carry the cribs into the new nursery.

* * *

Sasuke, Sakura and Ikeri step back to admire the new baby nursery. Lined along the walls are cribs and bassinets. Under the big window are two big dressers, filled with baby diapers, containers of wipes, and extra blankets. The huge walk-in closet along the left side of the wall is filled with baby clothes. In each corner by the dressers sits a rocking chair. And beside each rocking chair sits a basket of toys. By the dressers are two pails for dirty diapers. And in front of the dressers are baskets to hold baby changing mats and pails for dirty diapers. On the top of each dresser is a bottle of lotion, cleaner, and hand sanitizer. 

Above each crib and bassinet is a hanging wall bag for each baby's personal blanket and stuffed animal. And beside each wall bag is a hook for baby outfits. These hooks will allow Sasuke and the mothers to pick out baby outfits the night before. 

Ikeri sighs as she looks at the completed room with satisfaction. “Ok, we now have the babies’ nursery done. Now it is time to see if Yukiko needs help in the babies playroom.” 

Sasuke sighs. They have been working so hard, yet there is still so much to be done. 

Ikeri simply walks out of the room with Sasuke and Sakura following her. As the three of them descend the stairs, they hear the front slide door open. Sasuke, Sakura and Ikeri make it down the stairs in time to see a figure walk into the house. It is Keiko. She is back from her excursion to the daycare and orphanage. 

“Keiko…,” Ikeri says in greeting. “You are back. Was your outing worth it? Did you get some good tips from the staff at the daycare and orphanage?” 

Keiko sighs. “They did give me the same advice as Kakashi, but there were some things that they told me that Kakashi didn’t about toy rotation.” 

“Like what?” Ikeri eagerly asks. 

Keiko sighs as she takes out a notebook. “I took notes.” Keiko says. “Come, I shall tell you what I learned.”

* * *

Sasuke, Sakura, Ikeri and Keiko all sit in the playroom with Yukiko and the babies. The babies play happily in their new playroom. On one wall is a huge built in shelving unit filled with baskets of toys and baby supplies. The wall leading out onto the big veranda is made up of shoji screens. The shoji screens are open, allowing for a cool breeze and lots of sunshine to fill the room. However, there are specialized baby gates between the wooden studs of the shoji screens to keep the babies from escaping out onto the veranda. 

Yukiko rocks baby Yamiko in her arms as she listens to Keiko speak. Keiko sighs as she reads the writing in the notebook. “The staff at the daycare told me that when rotating toys, you need to make sure that there is something for each child to play with in each container that you rotate. Or at least things that the kids can play  _ together _ .”  

Sasuke blinks a few times. “That makes sense.” Sasuke says. “However, if we don’t have big enough containers, we may need to use multiple ones and just bring out a few at a time.” 

Keiko sighs as she continues to read. “And you should try to include different types of toys in each rotation.  _ Thinking toys _ include puzzles, games, memory games, brainteasers, and shape sorters.  _ Building toys _ include many different types of blocks and nestling cups.  _ Pretend toys _ include toy kitchen sets, dolls and dollhouses, tea sets, figurines, dress up clothes, and stuffed animals. Then, there are big  _ climbing toys _ which encourage exercise and gross motor development. Of course climbing toys for the older ones cannot be put away into a closet. There is also the playground nearby. If we take the kids on excursions to the playground on some days, they can run around and get exercise.”   

Sasuke blinks a few times. “I didn’t think about grouping the toys into categories like that.” Sasuke says. 

Keiko sighs. “And the daycare workers told me that they encourage independence as much as possible. They leave dishes out on low shelves for the kids to get themselves when it is snack time. Even at the orphanage, three to four year olds get their own dishes and food. The orphanage staff just put the food out in the middle of the table and the kids use special utensils to get food for themselves.” 

Sasuke and Yukiko blink a few times. “Really?” Yukiko asks. “Do you think we could trust the oldest ones with getting their own food like that? And trust them not to break dishes?”  

Keiko sighs. “It wouldn’t hurt to try that out. It would be nice if the oldest kids at least could serve themselves at least, so that we don’t always have to keep getting second portions for them when they want more. And...the staff at the orphanage told me that in each house, at every mealtime, the adults need to sit down with the kiddos and eat their  _ own _ food. This apparently encourages table manners as the kids are seeing the adults eat their food a certain way. The manager of the orphanage told me that the dishes can wait. Wait until after the meal is done in order to do them.” 

Sasuke thinks about this for a minute. “This means the oldest kids cannot help dry the dishes in the younger houses afterwards, or help cleanup as they may be eating their own meals. But the oldest kids can still help get the little ones to the table at every meal I suppose.” 

“But...they can dry their own dishes after their  _ own _ meal is done.” Keiko says. Keiko then thinks of something else. “And this is what we can do as well. After all of the houses are done with their meals, groups of the oldest kids will go and help cleanup.” 

“Good idea.” Yukiko says. 

Keiko then sighs. “The manager of the orphanage did ask me if the kids fight over their personal belongings a lot, and I said yes.” Keiko says. “The lady told me that the kids need to learn to respect each other's boundaries and to not touch each other’s personal items without permission. The lady told me to give each child a basket or container to store their personal belongings in. Then, the rule must be that no other child can touch the others stuff if it is inside the basket.” 

Sasuke thinks about this for a minute. “That is a good idea.” Sasuke says. “The kids do fight a lot over each other's personal toys.” 

Keiko sighs again. “And...the daycare lady and the manager of the orphanage told me that you cannot  _ force _ a child to go to sleep. Here is what they told me for us to do instead. Right before every naptime and bedtime, we make the kids lie down in their beds. The kids can just lie there and even just read or look at a picture book. But the rule is they have to  _ stay _ in their bed. If they get up, scold them and put them  _ right back _ into their bed. The daycare lady told me that the kids will fall asleep eventually. We’ll just have to be  _ patient _ .” 

Sasuke thinks about this for a minute. “I can see this working for the girls, but not the boys so much.” Sasuke says. 

Keiko sighs. “I know.” Keiko says. “Especially for Kazuto, Akirou, Haruto and Raiden. We’ll just have to put those four to bed like we usually do.” 

However, Keiko soon manages a smile. “However, I do have big plans to make the bedrooms more inviting. I plan to personalize each bunk to make it more inviting to the kiddos to sleep in. The bedrooms could use a coat of paint. I was just thinking that we could take some of the money that you found in order to paint the bedrooms.” 

Sasuke blinks a few times. Perhaps  _ all _ of the bedrooms could use a fresh coat of paint. A gallon of paint just costs 20 ryo a can. They have plenty of money now to  _ freshen _ things up.

* * *

Sasuke sighs as he follows Keiko, Tamiko, and Hitomi into the dining room. It is nighttime and the kids are all asleep. After their day of playing with Naruto, the oldest kids went down for their naps and to bed without a fight. Sasuke, Sakura and the mothers worked all day preparing the houses for the big change. Everything is sorted and organized. The painting and decorating of the rooms will come later. 

Sasuke, Keiko, Tamiko, and Hitomi all enter the dining room. Ikeri, Saki, Komone, and Aika are waiting for them. It is now time to work on a chore schedule for the oldest kids. 

Sasuke blinks as he looks around at the dining room. Along one of the walls is a big cubby shelf system that holds dishes, utensils, cups and cloth napkins for everyone. On a large shelf above the cubby shelves are containers filled with small toys and art supplies. Sasuke, Keiko, Tamiko, and Hitomi all sit down at the table. Aika sighs as she lays out the schedule that she created. “Here is the schedule I created.” Aika says. 

Sasuke and all of the mothers look at the schedule. “Ok, so the kids wake up just before 6:00am and they always go to Sasuke’s right afterwards.” Keiko says. “I was just thinking that Tamiko, Hitomi and I could make the kids do simple things before they leave the house. The oldest children are very capable of putting their dirty nightclothes into the washroom, making their beds or futons, dressing themselves, and brushing or combing their hair.” 

“Good idea Keiko.” Hitomi says. “The kids need to learn how to properly take care of their rooms, beds, and  _ themselves _ .” 

Keiko then rubs her chin thoughtfully. “That should at least take the oldest kiddos fifteen minutes to do each morning. They would probably go straight to Sasuke’s right after their chores are done. Then, Sasuke can go over to the infant’s house with some of the children to help out.” 

Ikeri rubs her chin thoughtfully. “The infants usually start crying for their bottles around 6:20 am.” Ikeri says. “If Sasuke and the kids could get there by at least 6:15 am, then we could get them their bottles and change their diapers before they start crying.” 

Tamiko looks at Sasuke. “Sasuke…,” Tamiko begins. “Have you ever thought about waking up before the oldest kiddos come to wake you up? They wouldn’t jump on you and we could all begin our day earlier, which means we could all go to bed  _ earlier _ .” 

Sasuke thinks about this for a minute. “Well, if it helps to get us all to bed earlier, then I guess it would be worth it to lose a few minutes of sleep in the morning. I could always set my alarm.” 

Aika then looks at the schedule. “Ok, so if Sasuke and his group of children can get to the infant house by 6:15 am, then the other groups of children should get to the other houses by that time.” 

Komone rubs her chin. “The one year olds are usually awake by 6:15 am.” Komone says. “If the group of children who come to help us get there by that time, they could help us with getting the little ones ready in the morning. They could help us with getting clothes for the little ones, and putting dirty laundry into the washroom.” 

Aika rubs her chin. “The two year olds also wake up around 6:15 in the morning. The oldest children can help us get them ready as well.” Aika then looks back to the schedule. “Then, after the little ones are dressed, we can begin breakfast. The oldest children can get the little ones to the table, give them a snack, and a toy. Then, when breakfast is ready for the babies, the one year olds and two year olds, the oldest kids can go back to their house and have at least fifteen minutes to have a snack and play before their own breakfast is ready. Then, when breakfast is ready, Sasuke, Keiko, Hitomi, Tamiko and the oldest kids can sit down and have breakfast together. After their breakfast is done, the kids can help cleanup. Then, Sasuke and the kids can go to the other houses to help with any residual clean up.” 

“Good idea!” Tamiko says with a smile.  

Keiko blinks a few times. “Alright then, what about lunch?” Keiko asks. 

Aika sighs. “Well, Sasuke usually comes to help with lunch at the one year olds house by 11:30 am.” Aika says. She then looks at Sasuke. “Sasuke, is there any chance that you could get home by 11:00 am? I mean Ikeri and Yukiko do need help with pre lunch diaper changes and getting the older babies sat down for a meal. And a group of kids could help you as well. Another group could help Komone, Saki, and Motoko. Another can help Aika and Akira. Then, that will still leave the oldest kids fifteen minutes to have a snack and play with toys before their own lunch is done. Afterwards they can help clean up.” 

Sasuke’s eyes widen slightly. He then leans back and thinks for a moment. “I suppose that could work. I do hate changing diapers but at least I will have some help.” Sasuke says after a few minutes. “And me helping change diapers will make things go quicker.”  

Keiko and the other mothers nod. Keiko then turns back to Aika. “What about dinnertime?” Keiko asks. 

Aika sighs. “The same thing with breakfast and lunch.” Aika says. “Sasuke usually goes to help with the babies around 4:00 pm. However, I was just wondering if perhaps the babies could be fed around 4:30 pm. And even perhaps the kids could have an earlier dinner. The kids usually wake up from their nap around 3:00 pm. I was also wondering if we could somehow get the children down for their naps earlier, they would wake up earlier and have more downtime before they have to do chores. If Sasuke and a group of children came to help at the infant house by at least four to help with diaper changing, then the babies could be fed by at least 4:30pm. And while Sasuke and that group of children helps with the infants, the other groups could help out at the other houses. Again, the oldest kids can have fifteen minutes to have a snack and play with toys before their dinner. And of course, Sasuke, Keiko, Hitomi, and Tamiko will sit down and eat with them. Afterwards, The kids will help clean up the dining room and then go to the other houses to help with any necessary clean up.”

Keiko and the other mothers look at one another. “That could work.” Keiko says. “And...one of the daycare workers told me that children over three should only take one and a half hour naps. If children sleep too much during the day then it makes it harder for them to sleep at night.” 

Sasuke and the mothers all look at one another. “That would make sense.” Hitomi says as she rubs her chin. “Maybe if Kazuto, Akirou, Haruto and Raiden slept less during the day, they might actually be  _ tired _ when bedtime rolls around.” 

Komone blinks a few times. “What about bath time?” Komone asks. 

Aika sighs. “Well, I was thinking that as the kids help clean up after dinner, one child could help one of the mothers get everything set up for bath time.” Aika says. “Then, they can go home and play while Sasuke and the rest of us can handle bath time for the babies and younger children. I was even thinking that with the babies and one year olds, we can bathe some  _ together _ , which will make bathtime go a lot faster. And...of course, we will only bathe certain babies and one year olds per night.” 

Komone rubs her chin thoughtfully. “We will have to be careful which one year we put together, especially the ones who require a certain water temperature.” 

Saki then thinks of something else. “Hey, maybe with the resistant boys, we could put them in with one of the calmer boys!” Saki says. “If the resistant ones see one of their brothers having fun in the bathtub, maybe they would actually  _ enjoy _ taking baths.” 

Komone frowns just a little. “The resistant ones thrash around!” Komone says. “If it doesn’t work and the resistant one thrashes around, the calmer boy might get  _ hurt _ !” 

“The bath tubs are nice and roomy and long.” Saki reminds Komone. “We could put one child at one end of the bathtub and the other child on the other end. But the resistant one will still be able to see the calmer boy having  _ fun _ . My plan is to at least have someone standing by in case things get out of hand. It wouldn’t hurt to at least  _ try _ .” 

Komone sighs. “Well, it might be worth a try.” Komone says. “It certainly would shorten bathtime for us.” 

Aika blinks a few times as she rubs her chin. “Some of the two year olds are pretty small and our bath tub is big as well.” Aika says. “Maybe we could even bathe some of the two year olds together. Chihaku and Daichi are very close, and if Chihaku sees Daichi having fun, then maybe Chihaku will learn to like bath time. I will have to talk that over with Akira though. However, that would shorten bath time for us as well.” 

Keiko sighs. “I don’t see any hope for Kazuto, Akirou, Haruto or Raiden liking bath time.” Keiko says. “We will just have to bathe them one by one like we usually do.” 

Hitomi sighs as she looks at Aika. “What about bedtime?” Hitomi asks. 

Aika sighs. “Well, here is what I think we should do.” Aika says. “Of course Zakuro and Chiaki will be sharing a room, Tomone and Aiko will be sharing a room, and Hoshiko will have her own room. And of course, Yuuta and Masaru will be sleeping in Sasuke’s house. And since we will use one bedroom for the babies and one year olds, things should be a lot easier in those houses at least. And...Sasuke can help out during baby bedtime, the one year olds bedtime, and the two year olds bedtime. He will just have to take Yuuta and Masaru back to his house and put them to bed.” 

Keiko sighs. “This will leave Hitomi, Tamiko and I to wrangle the other children. And of course, we will not be able to force them to sleep. However, we can make them lie down in their beds until they fall asleep. The manager of the orphanage told me that we should allow the eldest children to just lie in their beds and read or look through a picture book. They will go to sleep eventually. The manager of the orphanage told me that we should also implement that at naptime. However, I don’t know how that will work with Kazuto, Akirou, Haruto and Raiden. They are very resistant.” 

Hitomi sighs. “Well just have to put the girls to bed first, and then wrangle the boys.” Hitomi says. 

Ikeri then narrows her eyes. “I was also just wondering.” Ikeri begins to say. “How should we divide the kiddos into groups? Which ones should help Yukiko, Sasuke and I first?” 

Keiko shrugs. “I dunno.” Keiko says. “We’ll have to figure that out. I was thinking that maybe the kids should just shadow Sasuke tomorrow and watch him and the rest of us work. That way they will be able to see what exactly we want them to do. Then later, we can figure out to split them into groups.” 

“That may be a good idea.” Hitomi says. 

Sasuke blinks a few times. He doesn’t like the idea of all twelve kids following him and annoying him as he works tomorrow. But hey, the little brats need to begin somewhere right? Having them shadow him for a day and watching him work sounds like a good idea.

Ikeri yawns a little. “All that I know is that I am tired.” Ikeri says. “I need to turn in for the night.” 

Many of the other mothers yawn as well. “Yeah, we have a long day tomorrow.” Komone says. 

Keiko then looks at Sasuke. “Have you figured out which room will be for Yuuta and Masaru?” Keiko asks. 

Sasuke blinks. “Actually, I don’t know.” Sasuke states. “I suppose that I could always use that  _ man’s _ old bedroom.” 

Keiko and the other mothers just glance at each other but don’t say anything. They already know that Sasuke is talking about the children’s father, Itachi Uchiha, the slayer of the Uchiha clan. Keiko and the other mothers know the subject of Itachi and the Uchiha clan massacre is a very sore subject for their children’s uncle to talk about. 

* * *

Sasuke just blinks as he looks at his older brother’s old bedroom. Everything is as it was as the day Itachi last used the bedroom. The night Sasuke’s life changed forever. Sasuke closes his eyes and grits his teeth. He hasn’t been inside this room for years. Just being in here brings back memories of Itachi, and the massacre. 

After a few minutes, Sasuke opens his eyes. He must make a critical decision. Should he really put Masaru and Yuuta into their  _ murderous _ father’s old bedroom? Or should he choose a different room? 

Sasuke blinks and paces outside the door. The only other bedroom aside from his parents old bedroom is all the way across the house from his bedroom. If something catastrophic was to happen, such as a strong storm or perhaps even a fire, it would be very difficult for him to rescue the boys. And Sasuke promised himself that he would never change his dear parents old bedroom around unless he had no other choice. Eventually, Sasuke sighs and stops pacing. It probably would be  _ best _ if he put Masaru and Yuuta into this room. Maybe if Sasuke could just get rid of Itachi’s things, except for the furniture, he would despise the room less. And maybe if he redecorated as well, he would despise this room less. 

Sasuke sighs as he turns on the light. The room is illuminated with a soft glow from the light above. There is a thin layer of dust covering the furniture. The walls also look dingy and dirty. Sasuke takes a deep breath and steps back. This room needs a good cleaning. And...maybe a good coat of paint will help make the room look different. And if the room is decorated with kids things, it will also look different. Sasuke keeps telling himself that even though this room is only for Masaru and Yuuta to sleep in, the two of them might actually want to spend some quiet time in this room during the day...away from their noisier and more  _ boisterous _ brothers.

* * *

Sasuke takes a deep breath as he steps out of the shower. He dries off his body quickly and then dries his hair. Sasuke then puts his night clothes on and heads for bed. 

Sasuke opens the door to his bedroom and steps inside. He sighs as he closes the door behind him. He then walks over to his bed, pulls back the covers and literally collapses onto the soft mattress. Sasuke is so tired after his day. However, as long as things improve around the compound, it will all be worth it. 

Sasuke slowly pulls the covers over himself and stares up at the ceiling as he slowly begins drifting off to sleep. Tomorrow...things are going to change for the little brats. And...hopefully it is for the better.


End file.
